Intransigence
by raoulofrage23
Summary: Bakura finds himself in a predicament when his mother brings home a foster child. He doesn't want to take the responsibility as an older brother seriously...or so he thought at first.
1. Prologue

AN: Hey, I'm back! This new story will be taking place in the present, and it will have all yamis in a different (separate) body from their hikaris. Just a heads up. 

Okay! So, let's get started.

.:Intransigence:.

_**Prologue**_

Heaving a sigh, a teen no older than sixteen closed the oak door behind him as he stepped into the cool, dark threshold. He hung up his side-slung backpack on a hook in the hallway and took an immediate right to go upstairs. Halfway up, he impassively called, "I'm home" to notify his father that he was back from school. Most of the time, he had the house to himself, but occasionally his dad would be in the living room, watching TV.

So when Bakura heard his mother reply from the kitchen, he was a little surprised. She was usually having tea at some person's house at this time in the afternoon. He paused at the top of the set of steps, debating whether he ought to go down and greet her properly. In the end, he chose his room over a meaningless conversation.

It was stuffy in his room. Slighltly annoyed, Bakura jerked his window open and almost had his mane of white hair in a ponytail when his mom called for him.

Bakura clenched his teeth, growling softly in irritation. "Bakura!?" his mother shouted again. "Bakura honey, come down!"

Muttering curses under his breath, Bakura let his hair down and didn't exactly 'make haste' to see his mom. By the time he had entered the kitchen downstairs, he had his frustration under control.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Bakura saw his mother leaning on the tiled kitchen counter, her tacky summer blue dress wrinkled from her carelessness. She was staring so intently at the pale form in the dining room that she didn't notice the teen's entrance.

Bakura glanced over to the next room, a little curious as to what his mom was gazing at. Sitting on an wooden chair with his arms crossed on the dinner table, legs suspended in the air, was a little boy with a baseball cap.

"Who the hell is he?" Bakura murmured, not really taking care to look over the child.

His mother smiled wide as she turned to face him, her coffee-stained teeth practically glowing. Bakura kept himself from looking away in disgust when she proudly announced, "Bakura, meet your new brother."

Those words sent a current of ice to crash throughout his entire body. "W-what?"

His mom repeated her statement, but Bakura didn't hear it. Because at that moment, the child glanced over his shoulder and caught his eyes.

Brown eyes that hinted at chocolate looked at him with inquisitiveness as Bakura's lavender ones took in the image before him. Bakura could tell the kid had white hair, perhaps even silver, that barely had the length to crawl out from the hat he wore. Judging from the child's new clothes that didn't match in color, he could also deduce that his mother had probably taken him shopping.

Almost instantly he grew angry. "Why did you bring home a mutt like him?" Bakura demanded to know, glaring at the boy.

Obviously not expecting her son's reaction, Bakura's mom stuttered for a moment before she could get a sentence across. "B-Bakura, that's no w-way to greet the newest a-addition to our family."

"Are you trying to ruin his life?" Bakura shouted, now glaring at his mom. "How can you be so stupid? Does dad know about this?"

"Do I know about what?" a low voice thundered.

Silence fell in the kitchen right away as the front door closed. Footsteps announced the arrival of a sleek-looking, handsome businessman. It didn't take Bakura's father very long to sum up the situation from his son and wife's looks, as well as the unfamiliar face in the dining room.

"Jesse, you brought another one home?" the man quietly asked.

Bakura's mom fidgeted a bit, keeping her eyes glued to the ground. "W-well, I was so lonely, and so I thought that maybe-"

"The last orphan you brought was taken back by the foster homes because you forgot her at the subway," the man hissed. "We can't afford another run in with the government! Do you have any idea how stressed I was from the money loss? We had to dip into our savings to pay off the fines and charges! And besides, we don't have the funds to accommodate another-"

"But Utaka, I'll watch him carefully this time," Jesse said confidently. "I'll make sure to-"

"Nonsense," was the curt response. Jesse whimpered and whined as Bakura's father loosened his tie and slowly said, "Since we can't take him back, I'll have to watch him…"

The words left his mouth before he could even think them over. "I can take care of him, father," Bakura offered. Utaka raised his eyebrows, his hands frozen in midair.

"Excuse me?"

Bakura bit his lip, inwardly groaning. _I can't believe this…_Was this what people called divine punishment? He really couldn't handle anymore right now, but this kid…_What rotten luck, to be thrown into this mess that I call family. _

The little scrap of humanity that he had left kept focusing on the child, and more than anything, it was _really_ bugging him.

He steadily looked at his father. "I…I will take full responsibility for him."

His father's smirk told him that he had heard the quivering in his voice. However, when his dad nodded and turned away, Bakura knew he had gotten the message across.

"But you were just complaining and yelling at me," Jesse said, confused. She didn't want to give up her new play thing so easily. "About him, about the boy..."

Exhaling slowly, Bakura stalked right past his trembling mom and grabbed the boy's wrist. "I never said I wouldn't be a brother," he muttered. _Though who says I'll be a good one? _

The child, who had been staring at the table the whole time, was obviously startled by the teen's cool touch. He glanced up at Bakura, and quickly looked down as he fervently wiped his wet eyes with the back of his hand.

Bakura ignored the boy's attempts and pulled him out of the seat. Leading him upstairs by keeping a firm grip on the child's wrist, he remembered something.

"What am I supposed to call you?"

"Ryou…"

---  
AN: Well, that's just the beginning. It might be a little confusing, but it'll be all better in the next chapter. Please review, and tell me what you think! Um, expect the next update either Sunday night or Monday! Thanks for reading.


	2. The Fourth First Day of School

AN: Hm, I think my favorite part of this chapter is all in the second half. That being said, I can reveal no more. :P I hope you enjoy.

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Hehe, I hope so too. Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Really? Cool, thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: Yay, that's a good sign. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Lol, I'm excited to write another one as well. Thanks for the review!

Chapter One: The Fourth First Day of School

"You get the top bunk."

Ryou glanced at his new bed, and nodded once. He stole a quick look at the rest of the small room, and saw to his surprise that it was pretty clean. Next to the door was a cabinet for clothes with a little bookshelf supporting a stereo system. Across from these things was a towering bunk bed, and not much else.

Unsure of what he was supposed to do, Ryou stood at the door and just watched the teen fiddle with the stereo.

Bakura adjusted the volume before he hit the play button, initiating the loudest stream of music that Ryou had ever heard. Throwing his hands over his ears, the child winced and looked at Bakura as if he were insane.

Grinning, the teen mouthed, "Don't touch," while pointing to the music system. Then he pulled Ryou into the room. "You stay here," he said, having to almost shout to be heard. "Don't leave, got that?" He reinforced his command by squeezing the boy's shoulder before he turned around.

Then he was gone.

_Where are you going? Why'd you leave the music on so loud? _Ryou stared dumbfounded at the door. _Don't leave? I'm supposed to just stay in here? By myself? _Tears welled up in the child's eyes as he sat on Bakura's bed, pulling his legs up and folding his arms around them.

_I hate this place._

He could feel a headache coming on from the thundering bass. Feeling a little cross, Ryou grabbed the closest pillow and wrapped it over his ears. It didn't block out much, but he kept it there anyway. Ryou was tempted to turn down the volume a bit, but he was scared that that would lead to Bakura liking him even less.

_**Why'd you bring home a mutt like him? **_

Ryou slammed his eyes shut, trying to drown out the words by listening to the lyrics of the raucous music. However, that didn't last very long since his head soon felt like splitting in two.

Slowly Ryou started to drift off, remembering vaguely when the music stopped and there was soft cursing. Other than that, everything was black.

---

"Oi, get up or you're going to be late!"

Ryou groaned. "What time is it?" he groggily mumbled.

"Six in the morning! Now _get up_!" Bakura hissed. He growled in annoyance as the boy finally opened his eyes and started moving. As if in a trance, Ryou stumbled out of bed and aimlessly looked around, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

"Next time, sleep in your bed," Bakura said, glaring a little. Ryou blanked for a moment before the meaning of the teen's words settled into his mind.

"There's a bathroom down the hall, and your school uniform's in there," Bakura explained, grabbing his wristwatch from the cabinet. "Fix your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. Then come to the kitchen for breakfast." There was a _click _as the watch snapped into place. "Hurry up!"

Ryou cringed, and quickly ran out of the room. Bakura shook his head, loosely fastening his tie as he ran downstairs.

For the second time that morning, Bakura entered the kitchen and started cooking breakfast. "Geez, if dad could just make his own breakfast, it'd save me a lot of time," Bakura bitterly murmured, fiercely 'scrambling' the eggs.

By the time Ryou presented himself, Bakura had finished his own meal and was busying himself again. "You've got five minutes to eat. Take any longer, and you'll be late for school," the teen called over his shoulder, washing the dishes.

_Erk! Note to self, _Ryou thought as he shoved the food into his mouth. _Never wake up late again. _

At exactly six thirty, Bakura and Ryou were ready to go. Crouching down to the level of the child, Bakura handed Ryou his backpack and said everything he needed was in there. Then, he grabbed the child's hand and led him out the door.

_This is crazy,_ Bakura thought, gritting his teeth as he crossed the street with Ryou in tow. _I can't do this every morning and then go through all that crap at night. It's too much to handle all at once._

Ryou was panting as he tried to keep up with Bakura. It wasn't that he was afraid to fall behind, since Bakura's grip on his hand was pretty strong. He didn't want to make Bakura mad by slowing him down. Ryou didn't know why, but when Bakura, the one who made mean remarks and cold demands, held his hand…he felt a little happy.

Even though he probably didn't mean it, even though it was only temporary, to Ryou, it felt good to be loved.

"We're here."

Ryou blinked as he let his thoughts dissolve, quickly adjusting to his new surroundings. Steel gates surrounded the area, with a nice looking school erected in the middle.

"This is your elementary school," Bakura said. "Father called last night to enroll you, and he did it after some…uh, anyways, you should be fine. Now, go on."

Ryou was about to step forward when he realized that he was still holding Bakura's hand. The teen raised an eyebrow, looking from his hand to Ryou, and then back. Blushing, Ryou quickly released it and ran forward, never feeling so flustered in his life.

"Have a good day," Bakura muttered, even though the child was already out of earshot. A young woman, the third grade teacher, greeted Ryou with a big smile and a one-armed hug. Bakura grinned when Ryou stiffened, obviously uncomfortable, and watched him go inside.

"Hm, I think their school ends up four…" Bakura sighed. _Damn, that means I have to run to get here on time after _my _school ends. _Bakura arched his neck back and stared at the sky as he slowly made his way to the high school.

_Maybe it all won't be so bad…maybe. _

---

"So this is your first day of school, Ryou, isn't it?" Mrs. Deluz asked, still smiling as she guided the new boy to the classroom.

"I guess," Ryou said, shrugging. _But I've already done it three times this year…_Being in the foster home system had given him this rare experience.

"It's odd for a student to join us in the middle of April," Mrs. Deluz pondered aloud. "Does your family travel a lot?"

"Um…kind of…" The word _family _sent a pulse of pain right at his heart. Ryou was already starting to dislike his teacher. She was kind of nosy, and not very wary of the impact of her words.

"Well." Mrs. Deluz stopped outside of a room, and pointed to the row of cubbies. "Put your backpack in there, and give me your lunch."

Ryou froze. _L-lunch? We were supposed to pack a lunch? _

Mrs. Deluz took Ryou's sudden silence a different way. "Oh, I always keep the lunches with me because students have a tendency to, uh, take what is not theirs."

The child took his backpack off, trembling as he started rummaging through it. This was all too embarrassing… "I-I don't think I have-" Ryou stopped in mid-sentence as his hand brushed something. Too scared to hope for the best, Ryou gently pulled out the item.

It was a small, black bento box with a golden dragon imprint on the front. Confused, Ryou slid open the container at the red outlining to uncover his very first box lunch.

_W-when did he-?_

---  
AN: Ah, I hope that cleared anything that was…really _really _confusing. Please review and tell me what you think! Thanks. (Next update will be on **Wednesday** or **Thursday** night).


	3. The Park

AN: Hm, fourth of July is tomorrow! Have a great holiday with lots of awesome fireworks!

Thanks to…

The Vampire Prince: I thought so too! Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: I agree with you, though Bakura would make a great big brother if he could open up a little more. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Bakura is a little moody, huh? I wonder why that is…(hehehe). I also thought the lunchbox was cool! Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: His mother is a little…erm, yeah. Lol. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Two: The Park

A car horn blared as Bakura sprinted across the street. For someone who had almost gotten hit by a speeding Benz, Bakura was quite calm. He didn't react when the driver skidded to a halt and cursed at him as he coolly walked away, or when people stared at him as if he were crazy.

Bakura ignored everything outside of his bubble as he glanced at his wristwatch for the fiftieth time. _Shit, I'm so friggin' late! _The teen's mind was somewhere else as he jaywalked yet again, cutting straight through a two-way road. More cussing and staring followed, tailed by more ignorance.

Relief washed over him when he spotted the gates of Ryou's elementary school. He slowed his jogging to a walk, unconsciously nervous about picking up the boy. His feet took him up a bricked staircase and into a covered area with multitudes of kids romping around.

He was a little surprised by the number of screaming and giggling children, and uncertainly stood near the entrance of the school as he scanned the many faces for a familiar one. Sweeping over the entire populace of little people once, Bakura frowned at the pathetic result and tried again.

It was no good, since there were too many within too small an age range. Bakura muttered some extensive colorful vocabulary under his breath, glaring at the kids now. He gritted his teeth and was about to try again when he saw a woman watching him suspiciously.

"Are you pedophile?" was written clearly on her face. Bakura huffed and finally gave up his silent searching method. He brought his hands to his mouth, about to bellow Ryou's name, when white hair and a Blue Eyes White Dragon backpack caught his eye.

He made a direct beeline for the kid, 'gently' shoving other tykes out of the way. Now that he was closer, he knew why he hadn't been able to see the boy – he had been crouching in the sandbox. "Ryou!"

The child glanced back at the calling of his name, and immediately stood up. "Bakura!"

Almost instantly, the teen turned on his heel. "Come on, let's get out of here," Bakura grunted.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryou's outstretched hand.

Ryou swallowed hard and instantly pulled his hand behind his back as Bakura continued to walk away. Blushing, Ryou clenched his backpack straps as he slowly started forward. _Did he see it? Oh god, how embarrassing… _For some odd reason, he felt a little disappointed. After the great bento lunch and wonderfully new school supplies, he was expecting…well, anything but the cold shoulder.

Ducking a little to hide his frustration, Ryou focused on Bakura's heels the whole way out. Some of his peers called out to him, and it was all he could do to mumble a goodbye back.

Why did he feel like he wanted to cry?

"Which way are you going? The house is this direction."

"Huh?" Ryou looked up, rapidly blinking away tears.

Bakura fell silent as he studied the boy, who busily stared at his shoes. _What the hell? _Bakura raised an eyebrow, but he didn't comment.

Ryou felt Bakura move away again, and only dared to look up when he was positive that the teen wasn't watching. Keeping a safe distance from Bakura as they walked home, Ryou mentally scolded himself for being so naïve. What had he been expecting? A hug and a kiss? Of course Bakura wasn't going to be nice to him! The teen had said all those mean things at the dinner table the night before! _**Why'd you bring home a mutt like him? **_Ryou's shoulders drooped as he convinced himself that Bakura didn't like him. Why would he? He was just taking care of him to lessen the burden on his mentally ill mother and stressed father…

"We're here."

Ryou whisked his thoughts off as he stiffened, glancing around. Trees, bushes, monkey bars, swings…wait a minute…He didn't see the house...?

"Where-"

"This is the park," Bakura explained, his back turned to the child. "Every day after school, we're going to stay here until seven thirty."

Ryou's curiosity acted before his own mind comprehended the situation. "Why?"

Bakura glared at him. "Because I said so." _Because I don't want you in the house…you'll just have to stay in my room again. _

The child mumbled an okay as he looked away, pretending to view the park. It actually looked quite fun, with a huge jungle gym complete with the biggest outdoor slides he had ever seen. There was even a small, mock rock climbing wall.

People ranging from crawling babies to adults flooded the park, laughing and shouting at the same time. Ryou watched them for a minute, feeling the bitter spring wind weave in and out of his coat. _I ought to move around before I start freezing…_

Sort of reluctantly, Ryou took his backpack off and placed it on an unoccupied bench before he slowly made his way to the jungle gym. Hoisting himself up the small staircase, he glanced back to see that Bakura was watching him. He blushed and quickly brought his attention to the monkey bars ahead of him.

As he reached for the first rung, a chubby girl pushed past him and tried to swing across. Ryou stumbled back, caught off guard. The girl didn't get past the third rung. She fell. Ryou pursed his lips as he got ready to try the bars himself.

Then a red-headed teen no older than twenty came forward. Ryou couldn't tear his eyes away as the girl sobbed while the teen comforted her. Eventually, the teen carried her off to a bench, and pulled out a band-aid for her small scratch. The girl smiled, laughing even.

Ryou suddenly felt like he should have shoved the girl off the jungle gym before she had reached for the monkey bars. It was his turn, anyways, and she had cut him, right? So he should have shoved her.

Envy and jealousy.

"Go already!" a boy whined from behind him.

Ryou snapped back to realty and released his death grip on the first bar. "You can go…" he murmured, feeling guilt ride down on him. He didn't wait for the boy's reply as he turned around and climbed off the jungle gym. _That was a rotten thought…_To actually want to hurt someone…

Running from the play structure to a corner of the park, Ryou came across an empty row of swing sets. He plopped himself onto a swing, far away from the rest of the park visitors, and started trembling.

Then he cried.

--- 

Bakura felt a little bad about ditching the boy, but he had to do this. _He won't notice I'm gone…I'll be back within the hour, anyway. _

"Hello sir! How may I help you?"

"Oh, yes…uh, I need a fire safety ladder."

"The ones that you just drop from your window during a fire?"

"Yeah…a sturdy one."

---

AN: Whew, that chapter was a little difficult. I kept getting interrupted during the editing part, since we just got a new dog. Hehe, he's so cute! Anyways, the next update will be…on either** Friday **or **Saturday** night. Thanks for reading, please review!


	4. Madness

AN: Erk, this chapter is barely making the deadline I myself set! Lol. I just decided on the name for my new puppy. I'm going to name him Loki! (After the trouble-maker god). I added a little more to this chapter to make up for the two hours it was overdue. (Though I didn't get to properly edit the chapter…simply ran out of time). Please enjoy!

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Go Bakura! Hm, I don't know what the fire ladder is for…(hehehe). You'll find out later. Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: He's about eight years old. I'm glad you like the story so far! Lol, it makes me want to write more. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Hehehe, evil plans? We'll see . I'm having a lot of fun writing this fic, but I constantly keep changing the original plan. Lol. Thanks for the review!

D.H. Knightly: Hm, how observant you are! I'm happy to hear you like it so far. Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: I haven't stated why Ryou must stay at the park yet, and the ladder…hm, I wonder what it could be used for? (-) Thanks for the review!

Vikerink: Lol. Beat him up, huh? And yes, he's eight. Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: I don't know, I wonder about that too. Lol. Thanks for the review!

akuma1225: lol, okay! Thanks for the review!

Chapter Three: Madness

Ryou blankly stared at the ground, his face feeling numb. The wind had dried his tears, but his eyes were still red. He could tell, because whenever he tried to blink, they stung a little. His hands were cold, having clenched onto the iron chains on either side of the swing for too long. He felt like he had to cry, but he had this dull sensation of emptiness that wouldn't let him.

Why did they always lie to him?

"_Don't worry, this is the family you've been waiting for…"_

How many times have they said that to him? Two, three, four? They didn't keep track. They didn't care, and neither did he.

Or that was what he wanted to think. Ryou slammed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as he suddenly felt angry at the world. _What did I ever do to deserve all this? How come I can't have a good family, or a mom that loves me, or a dad that plays catch with me, or…or…_

"Here you are."

Ryou bolted upright as the words flew over his head. Instantly losing his center of gravity, the child flailed his small arms to keep from falling out the back of the swing. A strong hand planted itself on his back, saving him from a backwards tumble to meet the ground.

"Careful, kid," Bakura murmured, slowly pulling his hand back. He glanced at his watch as he readjusted Ryou's backpack that he was now carrying, and said, "You still have another hour."

"Do we have to stay until seven?" Ryou said, not trying very hard to cover his obvious loathing of the place.

"Well, either it's here or my room. Take your pick," Bakura gruffly retorted, growing a little irritated.

"I'd rather go home!" Ryou barked back, glaring at Bakura now.

Bakura studied the boy for a little bit, his eyes cold. Was it just him, or was the kid sulking? Either way, he didn't like being yelled at. "Fine, have it your way," Bakura growled, tossing Ryou his backpack. Then he stormed out of the park, leaving a distressed Ryou behind.

_He doesn't have to be so mean_, Ryou thought, knowing he was being a little oversensitive. _I'm not some pet you can keep penned in somewhere… _Slowly, he dragged himself off the swing and proceeded to somehow track the angered Bakura home.

---

Bakura could have sworn his bones were creaking when he opened the door to his house. He was so tired from everything today, and the small squall he had with Ryou just added to the pile of crap that he had amassed already.

"Ryou? Bakura? Iszat you? Er you boyz ome already?" a slurred voice called out.

A groan escaped Bakura's lips. Mother was drunk _again? _

The door squeaked open, announcing Ryou's delayed arrival. Silently, the boy took his shoes off and hurried up the stairs. A door slammed shut, making Bakura flinch. Bakura knew he was still fuming over the teen's rules, but he didn't mind. He didn't have time to mind.

Bakura made his way to the kitchen, not really surprised that his mother was leaning against the counter with a bottle of Vodka in her hands. He eyed it as he started to wash his hands under the sink faucet. "You'd better not let father see that," Bakura said, pointing to the drink. More than anything, he wanted to tear it out of her hands and throw it away, but he knew that his mom would cry and wail until she got another one. _That _would _really_ piss his father off.

"I'm hungry," Jesse pouted, disregarding Bakura's warning completely. "Cook me some dinner."

Bakura didn't say a word as he dried his hands. _Of course I'm going to cook you dinner, mother_, he thought, mentally spitting out the last word. _I've cooked dinner for the last ten years! Why would I stop now? _

However, his face remained stoic as he readied some rice and rinsed bell peppers and tomatoes. Mentally he noted that he would have to put some food to the side for his father, who usually came home late. After he sliced the veggies up, he added onions, and set the stove to heat some chicken.

"What are you making?"

Bakura almost burned his hand because of Ryou's sudden appearance. "Don't just sneak in like that!" Bakura growled, taking the pan of meat off the stove.

Ryou shrugged, but didn't apologize, still feeling a little rebellious toward the teen.

"It's stir fry." Bakura scooped the veggies into the pan and placed it back on the stove.

The child watched him cook for a little bit more before he sulkily crossed the kitchen and plopped himself down at the dinner table, across from Jesse. Ryou found himself staring at Jesse, who was smiling dreamily while she sloshed the liquid around in the bottle she held.

Jesse seemed to know that he was watching. She played with her drink a little more before she met the child's eyes. "Would you like to try some?" she softly asked, offering the bottle to Ryou.

There was a pause. "What is it?" Ryou asked, hesitantly reaching for the glass container.

"Something really good," Jesse murmured happily, giggling to herself. Ryou nervously took the alcohol from his newest mother, noting her odd behavior. But then again, this woman had always struck him as…odd.

"Jesse, I'm home!" a familiar, strong voice hollered. "Bakura, start dinner!"

"It's already done, father," Bakura called back, entering the dining room with the pan of stir fry. "Move over, Ryou," Bakura murmured, placing dinner in the center of the table. "Don't touch the pan, it's hot…"

Ryou froze as the teen trailed off and stared at the bottle he held.

"Already, Bakura? Did you come home early or something?"

Utaka's voice was drifting closer, and for some reason, Ryou was getting scared. Why was Bakura staring at the drink? Did he want some? Was it bad? Was it stolen?

In less than a blink of an eye, Bakura snatched the bottle out of Ryou's hand. Ryou was stunned for a moment, trying to figure out what was happening. Did Bakura take the bottle away because it was good? Was he going to hog it to himself? Ryou frowned, weakly attempting to get his drink back. "That's not fair, Bakura!" he complained. "I found-" _it first. _

But the child never got to finish his sentence, because Bakura clamped a hand over his mouth just as their father walked into the room.

Ryou was about to try to grab the bottle again when Utaka grabbed it himself. _Hey, that's mine! _Ryou wanted to shout, but he didn't dare say a word because the man looked absolutely livid.

"What…are you doing with alcohol?"

Bakura could see Ryou grow as pale as snow, and instantly realized that the child hadn't known. Cursing a mile a minute in his mental realm, Bakura swallowed hard and found himself at a loss for words as his father glared at him.

The tense, brief silence was broken by a command. "Ey, gimme dat back," Jesse demanded in her slurred speech.

It set off _everything. _

"You let her _drink_?!"

There was an inhuman cry as the boys' father hurled the glass bottle at them, his entire face red from fury. For the first time in his life, Ryou screamed. However, no sound came out, since his throat had closed up from shock. Someone, Bakura, kicked his chair over, sending him flying from the table.

Ryou landed on his back, the breath knocked out of him. Sometime amidst the confusion, he heard the bottle shatter. He immediately curled up into a ball as a shadow fell over him. Something heavy crashed on top off him, making him cry out in pain. The teen, who had been thrown into him, rolled off. Ryou tried to scramble to his feet, to get away, when he saw Bakura struggling to get up as well.

"Go to your room!" Bakura shouted, wincing as he stood. Ryou was about to say something when Utaka's voice roared, "I told you that no alcohol was allowed in the house! Are you trying to kill your mother?"

Ryou shot straight for the stairs, stumbling just once.

"I didn't give it to her!" the child heard Bakura say. "She had it when we got home!"

He ran up the steps and basically dove for the haven that had once been a cage to him. Ryou could hear them fighting now, verbally rather than physically.

"You'd better not be lying to me, young man!"

"You didn't have to get to so angry!"

"You nearly killed your mother!"

Slamming the door close and locking it, Ryou jumped into bed and pulled the covers over his head, as if to protect himself from the madness in the dining room.

---  
AN: Sorry it was a little rough around the edges. I never got to edit it properly, but I hope it was still got the point across. Thanks for reading! Expect the next update to be on **Monday **or **Tuesday **night.


	5. Sharing

AN: Just letting you know right now, this chapter is a little shy of the normal length my chapters usually are. (Not short by too much, though). However, the next chapter (Chapter Five) is longer than normal. Kinda like…compensating, no? (I personally like Chapter Five more than Four…)

Thanks to…

Tails7651: 'Ebil'? Ha, that seriously made me laugh out loud:D Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: Lol, I'm tempted to say it in every response to my awesome reviewers. Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: You're exactly right! Poor Ryou indeed…Thanks for the review!

AnimeNymph: That's great to hear! I hope you enjoy the next chapter…though I believe more people will like the next one rather than this one. Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: Yeah, you're right on. Bakura has so much on his plate right now…sigh Poor Bakura. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Four: Sharing

The teen huddled on the seat of the toilet cover, knowing that his bathroom light was probably the only one on for miles around. After all, it was at least one in the morning.

_How stupid can you get? _Bakura scolded himself, carefully wrapping the lower part of his left arm with bandages. _A glass bottle is chucked at your head, and instead of ducking, you throw your arm up? How can you block something that shatters upon impact!? _

Somewhat crossly, Bakura fastened the bandage and yanked the sleeve of his shirt over it. Then he glared it at, as if that would make everything better.

But no matter how he looked at it, he knew his stupidity had really saved him.

His father would have kept yelling at him, kept chucking things at him, from having seen the alcohol his mother had drank. Yet upon seeing the blood running down his son's torn arm, he growled and said, "You'll get everything messy. Just go to bed tonight."

What a close call. Bakura heaved a sigh as he pressed a hand against his forehead, his leg supporting the arm, and closed his eyes. He was so exhausted from today! A small part of him was even wishing he could just die. Then maybe it would all be over, the stress, the pain, the fatigue, the torture.

_Get real. Hell would hurt a lot worse. _

Bakura smirked in spite of himself as he forced himself to his feet. Funny, how he assumed his entrance to the higher place was already rejected.

And perhaps it was.

_Gotta get to bed… _He had to get up at six for school, and six was in five hours. No, correction: he had to get up at six to get ready for school.

Turning the light off in the bathroom first, the teen slipped out into the hall and silently trudged toward his room.

_Ugh, I'm not ready for tomorrow, but tomorrow's already here…_

_This sucks. _

---

Chocolate eyes slowly opened themselves, finding wooden planks staring right back at them. They blinked once, twice…and then they widened to match the size of apples.

Ryou felt like he was hit by a hammer, since he was suddenly wide awake. _Oh, no! I slept in Bakura's bunk again…He's going to be so mad! _

_Erk! What time is it?! _

As Ryou scrambled out of bed, recalling too vividly his wake-up call the morning before, something caught his ear. He froze for a minute, half of his body being eaten by the blankets with his torso hanging out of the bunk.

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! _

An alarm? Ryou frowned, sweeping the room with a quick glance. Stereo, books, clothes… There was no clock…? Looking confused and thoughtful at the same time, Ryou hurriedly tried to untangled himself from the coverlet, but he couldn't get it off completely for some reason! In frustration, Ryou threw the covers off, and immediately discovered the reason for his blanket wars.

Bakura sat on the edge of the bunk bed, right on top of Ryou's blanket, slouched so he wouldn't hit his head on the low ceiling.

And sprawled at his side was his wristwatch, a flashing screen indicating what the time was through its digital 6:00 AM glowing in the dark.

When the child saw Bakura lightly snoring away, his first thought was getting revenge. Should he splash water on Bakura's face, to pay him back for yesterday morning? At the thought of water, memories from the day before flew through the child's mind's eye. Ryou shuddered as he remembered the insanity of it all. What kind of mother gave their child beer or wine or whatever the heck that liquid was?

"_What…are you doing with _alcohol_?" _

Just evoking the voice was enough to send chills down the boy's spine. There was something scary about Mr. Utaka, but Ryou excused the thought quickly since he really didn't know the man.

"Nhnn…"

Ryou jerked to attention as his brother stirred. His heart started to race as he began to wonder if somehow, Bakura had read his vengeful thoughts. Ryou was about to blurt out an apology when another surprise slammed into him that morning.

He watched Bakura perform one of the biggest yawns he had ever seen in his life.

The child couldn't help giggling at the teen's show, or at his absurd thoughts of a mind-reading Bakura.

"I thought I told you," Bakura sleepily murmured, stretching a little, "the top bunk is all yours. As in, the bottom one is mine."

"But I don't like the top one. The bottom one is more comfy."

"You've never been in your bed. Use the top from now on."

Ryou crawled out of the bed, prancing over to the door. As he opened it to go to the bathroom, he smiled at Bakura over his shoulder and asked, "Can't we share?"

Bakura's initial reaction was a dumbfounded one. Trying to grasp words to formulate a sentence, the teen strung some letters together but it was no use: the child was gone.

For several minutes, Bakura stared at the doorway, where Ryou had been standing.

"_Can't we share?" _

Was this…exultant wave what people called fondness? Brotherly love? Bakura sharply inhaled and quickly shoved the thought away.

"_Can't we share?" _

It was such an innocent question, but that simple inquiry was enough to impale Bakura right through the heart.

"Oh…" Bakura blinked, shaking his head a little. How long had he been sitting there for? There was no time to waste, he had to get started. Breakfast for three? Yes, and dad was going to be furious since he was already running late.

Grimly pushing his tattered body forward, Bakura felt his world shake as he quickly made his way down to the kitchen.

---  
AN: I know it's short, but I was really pressed for time this week! I'm sorry, but I'll be busy the rest of the week as well. I promise I'll update as soon as I can (hoping I'll be able to by **Saturday** or **Sunday**). I hope you liked it, despite its shortness! Thanks for reading.


	6. What It All Means

AN: Ah! I'm a day behind! Here's the chapter!

Thanks to… (I'm sorry if my replies are rushed. I'm not supposed to be up at this hour, but I _had_ to update! Sorry it's late!)

dragonlady222: Yay! Go Ryou! And yes, I agree with you about Bakura. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Lol, why thanks! And thanks for the review!

casaragi: Hehe. Thanks for the review!

Kaysblue: I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: Okay! Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: I think you'll like this chapter. Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Glad you noticed! Thanks for the review!

AnimeNymph: Hey, I'm glad it made you laugh! I thought I was the only person who thought that about the yawning scene. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Five: What It All Means

Ryou's cheeks were flushed as he ran toward his elementary school, his feet pounding against the paved walkway. _Please don't be late, please don't be late, _he silently prayed, but knew it was in vain. Waiting in front of the school doors was his teacher, scolding another third grader for being late. Wincing at his bad timing, Ryou quickly bowed to his teacher and murmured his excuse. While the teacher was warning him about tardiness, Ryou glanced back at the school gates and immediately brightened. For a moment, he forgot about the teacher and wholeheartedly started to wave.

Leaning against the gate was Bakura, who was grinning and panting like the child. As Bakura waved back, he saw the teacher frown. The teen couldn't help laughing as he began to walk away, knowing he had to get going soon or he would be late to his own class as well.

"Have fun today, and stay out of trouble," Bakura muttered. He knew that the words were wasted since the kid couldn't hear him, but a blessing couldn't hurt, right?

Slowly, Bakura's breathing became even again as he leisurely made his way to the high school. Crossing street after street until a large, brick building appeared, the student pushed past the crowds in the schoolyard as he scolded himself for taking his time. It was five minutes before the first bell, and he was probably going to be late. Used to showing up at least half an hour early every day, Bakura couldn't help growling in annoyance at the packed hallways and ever-shifting groups of people that blocked his path.

As predicted, he was late to his first class, History. Cursing the stupid people who stood in the halls to talk to friends for two more minutes because they couldn't stand not being able to chat with them for the next hour and a half, Bakura slammed himself into his seat and glared straight ahead of him as his teacher handed him a detention pass.

"You'll have to stay an hour after school in the library."

"_After_ school?"

"Did I not make myself clear, Mr. Teishin?"

Bakura clenched his jaw when his sensei snapped his father's despised surname. _I swear, as soon as I'm old enough, I'm going to discard that bastard's only link to me. _The teen exhaled as he ran a hand through his hair. "Could I come in early instead?" he asked heatedly.

The history teacher, Sorin Nolson, clicked his tongue. "What do I look like, an evangelist?"

As the man strolled back up to the front of the room, Bakura fought the temptation to break the pen he held in his hand.

_What the hell did I do to deserve this?_

---

Ryou happily skipped to his school cubbie, gathering his treasured bento box into his Blues Eyes White Dragon backpack. He didn't know when Bakura had found the time to make onigiri for his lunch, but the thoughtfulness had left him in incredibly high spirits for the rest of the day. He couldn't wait to tell to his brother thank you.

Shouldering his bag, Ryou quickly made his way outside to the under-cover area and impatiently waited for Bakura to pick him up. At first, the child's excitement made the time pass by quickly. However, the boy started to notice the mass of children was thinning out. It was getting late, or maybe he was just imagining it? Either way, Ryou became sick with worry.

Why wasn't Bakura here yet? Did something happen to him? Was he okay? _Well…he doesn't _have _to pick you up. _Pouting a little, and trying to keep himself from throwing a fit, Ryou shoved the thought out. Already his excitement had all but died, and irritation was starting to settle in. If the teen wasn't going to pick him up on time today, he should have told him! Why did Bakura always do this? Pretend to be nice, then become mean again?

As Ryou looked up to see how many kids were left, he saw his teacher coming toward him with concern written all over her face. _I don't need this right now, _the child decided, knowing full well that Mrs. Deluz was going to ask him where his 'guardian' was. Like he knew!

The boy quickly turned away from the teacher and made his way to the only entrance of the under-cover area, the staircase at the east end.

"Ryou, wait a minute!" Mrs. Deluz called.

This only spurred the child to go faster. He was so mad, so_ frustrated_, that he didn't want to take the chance of speaking to anyone for fear of screaming at them.

Just as he arrived at the stairway, Ryou couldn't believe his eyes when a white-haired teen started to make his way up the steps.

"Bakura!"

The said teen looked up, his eyes widening in surprise as Ryou glared at him from atop the stairs.

Bakura froze, frowning as Ryou rolled his hands into fists. The child started to shake, feeling irritated beyond reason. He couldn't speak, he couldn't voice all that wound up fury reveling in his system. What infuriated him further was the way Bakura was looking at him, as if asking what was wrong.

The sound of hurried footsteps caught Ryou's ears, and he immediately started down the stairs. He didn't need the teacher butting into his personal affairs, not now. Somewhat angrily, the child brushed past Bakura without a word and just plowed ahead.

Bakura stared after the child for a few seconds before stuffing his hands in his pockets and following the seething boy. "What the heck is his problem?" Bakura muttered under his breath.

Fifteen minutes later, upon arriving at the park, Ryou ran ahead of Bakura and headed for the abandoned swing set. He threw his bag off to the side and settled on a swing, gripping the vertical handles so tightly that later his hands would smell of rust.

Soft crunching told Ryou that Bakura was walking toward him. Choosing to ignore him, Ryou glowered at the ground as he swung lightly from his seat.

There was an uneasy silence as neither of the boys said a single word. Then, a little irate, Bakura asked, "What are you so furious about?"

The swing stopped. Ryou scoffed, incredulous to Bakura's seemingly ignorant attitude. He tried to say something, anything, to express the disappointment and anger boiling inside of him. Finally, the only thing he could shout was three simple words.

"I hate you!"

Bakura was quite clearly caught off guard. Before he could say anything however, Ryou vehemently continued. "I can't believe you! You're worse than all my previous foster parents! You pack me nice lunches and hold my hand on the way to school, but for what? As soon as school's over, you don't love me anymore! You make me stay in your room all night, with that stupid music on so loud. You always say mean things to me at home, and leave me out of everything! If you don't love me, that's fine! Quit lying to me! It's just cruel! If you're going to be nice, then be nice! Quit messing with me! It hurts!"

Despite all his defenses and efforts, Ryou started to cry. It was all too much, too big. He was so confused! Why would anyone trick him like that? Trick him into thinking that they loved him? Was it pity? Was it kindness? Was it malice?

Bakura was at a loss for words. He wanted so badly to yell back at the child, scream at him…_What more do you want from me? You have no idea what I have to put up with every day and night because of you! _But he knew better than that. No matter how much he wanted to act like a child, act his age, act like a teenager, he knew saying such words would destroy whatever naiveté and innocence remained in the boy.

"Why don't you just hit me instead?" Ryou angrily said, sniffling as he wiped the tear trails on his cheeks.

The teen's jaw stiffened. "What?"

Ryou swallowed hard, and met Bakura's eyes squarely. "It would hurt just as much, but you wouldn't have to waste your time pretending that you care. Isn't that what our father does?"

Bakura lost his temper. He grabbed Ryou's shirt collar with both hands and yanked him forward. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, "That man has not laid a hand on you, and he never will." Then Ryou saw Bakura look away as heat rose to his face. "I never meant to pretend, I never meant to hurt you, either," Bakura heatedly murmured. "But Ryou, if I didn't care, would I walk you to school every day? Would I even bother to make you lunch?"

Ryou felt Bakura release his shirt, and slumped back into the swing. He was completely worn-out, and realized that his older brother was, too. Why hadn't he noticed how tired he was?

A hesitant hand placed itself behind Ryou's head, and the child felt himself being pulled into an embrace. Ryou knew he was crying again, but he couldn't help it as that familiar warmth enveloped him. This feeling, this happiness – it was something he cherished the moment he had first held his brother's hand.

As the child clung onto his brother, who held him close, Ryou heard Bakura softly say something.

"I…I'll try harder. I promise."

It was then that Ryou realized just how selfish he had been.

---  
AN: I'm sorry it's a day late! The next chapter will be up by **Tuesday** or **Wednesday** night. Please review, and thanks for reading!


	7. Escape

AN: I added a little more to the chapter, which is why it's a little late. My bad…I just couldn't find the proper place to cut off, so I kept writing. Then I had to go back and edit. ;; Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

Thanks to…

ONIX-21: Hehe, I loved it too, and I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: Yeah, I agree! Though I was trying to emphasize that Bakura was confused, too…;; Guess that didn't show up very well. Thanks for the review!

casaragi: They share a strange bond, huh? Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Ah! I kind of did what I was trying to do. Lol. Thanks for the review!

AnimeNymph: Really? Hee, I loved it the moment I thought of it. Glad someone else did, too. Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: Why thank you, and thanks for the review!

Chapter Six: Escape

Their days fell into a pattern, a daily routine. A structured schedule was a new thing to Ryou, but despite the repetition, he found that he thoroughly enjoyed knowing what the day had in store for him. However, there was the occasional surprise when Bakura would take him for ice cream after school, or to visit a chocolatier. Because Ryou knew that the teen didn't usually show such signs of affection, the boy kept the memories close as something special.

Though Ryou had never told Bakura, he loved his new life. It felt great to always have a bento lunch that his friends were jealous of, to have an older brother that many of his female peers respected and adored. He loved spending time at the park after school, sometimes with Bakura, sometimes with friends. Things that most kids took for granted, Ryou absolutely treasured. Albeit Ryou fought with Bakura from time to time, he knew he didn't want (or rather, couldn't stand) to share his beloved brother with anyone else.

The only part he loathed about his days was the part where he had to go home. He always tried to stall at the park, to stay just a little longer, but Bakura was firm about being back at the house by seven thirty. Their family didn't eat dinner together; their mother ate as soon as Bakura was finished cooking, and Ryou ate when he finished his shower. The child rarely ever saw the man he was supposed to call 'father' sup because as soon as he finished his meal, Bakura sent him to the room they shared. 'Father' usually came home late every night, and had Bakura dine with him.

And Ryou would stay upstairs, music pumping loudly, until he fell asleep.

Ryou tried multiple times to stay awake, but never attempted to sneak out. The one rule that Bakura enforced completely was imprinted in his mind: _Never leave the room once I send you up. Sneak out, and I'll make you regret it, understand? _He didn't understand, but he obeyed anyway. Why? Because it was the only thing that Bakura asked him to do.

For the first time in his life, Ryou had a solid, ordered life that wasn't haywire or on the verge of blowing up in his face again.

Until everything changed…again.

On the way home from the park one day, Ryou noticed their forlorn mailbox had a clean white envelope sticking out of it.

"What's this?" he asked, running ahead to get the mail. As he pulled it out and turned it over in his hands, he looked back at Bakura, who was leisurely walking up to him, with questioning eyes.

Bakura shrugged, showing no interest in the letter, and strolled up to the house. "Maybe it's a bank statement?" He doubted it, but that was the only thing that came to mind.

"What's a bank statement? And does the bank know which school I go to?" Ryou looked up when his questions were met by silence. "Bakura?"

Frowning and looking a little angry, Bakura held out a hand and, demanded more than asked, "Could I see that?"

Ryou mutely handed the mail to Bakura, barely able to contain his curiosity. Was it something important? What did the bank have to do with his school?

Bakura read and reread the address before he tore open the envelope. As he quickly scanned the letter, he could feel his hands gripping the computer paper harder and harder.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Ryou immediately asked, hesitantly reaching for the letter.

Bakura cursed under his breath as he turned on his heel and stormed into the house, the letter still in his hand.

Ryou felt a little peeved about being ignored as he quickly followed his brother into their house. He threw off his shoes and placed his backpack on the base of the stairs before entering the kitchen as fast as he could.

The boy drew in a breath, jerking back to keep himself from view. What was his father doing home so early? And why was he drinking with their mom? Ryou pressed himself against the wall as he listened hard, trying to keep from being detected.

"What the hell is this?" Bakura angrily growled. Ryou heard a crinkling of paper, and ventured a guess that his father now held the letter he found in the mail.

There was a pause. "Oh…" Utaka chuckled, obviously drunk. "Filthy bastards want their money that bad, huh?"

"You promised that you would take care of the expenses!" Bakura roared. There was a slam, probably Bakura ramming his fist on the counter. "I'm doing what you asked. Keep up your end of the bargain!"

"Don't shout at your father, Bakura," Utaka muttered, his tone taking a sudden change to a darker one.

Ryou frowned. _What are they talking about? _

"But you promised-"

There was a hiss. "You know I got fired a few weeks ago. I'm short of money. The first thing I could think of cutting was that brat's school fee."

"You should have cut mine first!" Bakura shouted.

The sound of chairs scraping against the ground made Ryou wince. He couldn't contain his curiosity, and dared to peek into the kitchen adjoining the dining room.

Mr. Teishin, livid but calm, was standing in the dining room with Bakura's shirt collar in one hand. Their mother was across the table, in her own world, her face flushed from the alcohol.

"You only have a few more years of school left," Ryou heard their father murmur. "Your high school education is much more useful than that brat's elementary one. We can't afford both of them right now!"

"You can't go back on your word!"

Ryou flinched as he saw his father slap his brother hard enough to knock him off his feet. Bakura clenched and unclenched his jaw before he defiantly glared up at the man before him. Slowly, he stood as the man coldly said, "Don't tell me what I can and can't do, bastard."

Something ugly flickered across Ryou's eyes. The boy shook his head, feeling the heat of hatred threatening to crash relentlessly on top of him. He looked up in time to see Bakura mutter an apology.

"You have to start working," Utaka said, sitting back down. "I mean, working for money." Ryou saw his brother tightened his hands into fists as he mutely nodded. "Now, hurry up and make me dinner."

When Bakura turned to reenter the kitchen, he caught a glimpse of his younger brother. He hissed in warning, and that was all it took to get Ryou scampering up to their room. Angrily, the teen yanked the refrigerator open and started to pull out some leftovers to reheat. As he placed them in the oven, Bakura found himself fighting the urge to cry.

Bakura had never felt so betrayed in his life. He had done what the man had said somewhat obediently up to now, and what had it resulted in? _Shit, what the hell am I supposed to do? _He had taken all over it, all the poison, all the spite, even the misery. He had been the man's slave, taking care of his every whim. Sometimes, he even stayed up later than usual to finish his father's reports. And all for what?

_This is so humiliating. _

Numbly, Bakura served his parents dinner without even checking if the meal was warm enough. He really didn't care anymore. He could die, and not even feel the pain. All that suffering, for the last few years…

That night, when Bakura entered his room, he knew what he was going to do. _It has to be done today…the old man is completely out from all that drinking he did. _He was going to get away from this living hell that he called life. Somewhere far away, some place he would never hear the name 'Teishin' again.

It was a risk, because he knew the man probably wouldn't let him go without a fight. How could he? Bakura had been his to command, to direct, to make him do everything and anything he wanted him to do.

Bakura steeled his resolve, knowing full well that he would back out if he didn't. He took in a shaky breath before he started packing as quickly and quietly as he could. As much as he hated to admit it, he was terrified. When it came down to defying his father, actually violating his orders, Bakura was a coward. He would avoid such a situation at all costs, but-

Tension flew into every joint of Bakura's body when his hand brushed something on his bed. Almost immediately, he recognized it as Ryou. The boy had never really gotten used to the idea of sleeping on the top bunk, and Bakura was usually too tired to move him up, so they shared the bottom bunk.

_I can't take him with me _was the first thought that reached the teen. It would be too hard, on the run with a kid. Expenses would be higher, he would have to work more, too many consequences.

But Bakura knew he was lying to himself. How could he possibly leave his little brother with that monster of a man that they called 'father'? Even though Bakura hadn't fully grasped that taking care of a child on his own would mean giving up his own life, he knew Ryou had to go with him.

Because he was his brother, because he loved him. Even though Bakura had shunned Ryou at first, thinking of him as another burden to his messed up life, the teen had come to adore the boy who gave him a reason to go on living. Why? Because being with his father, alone, had been like going to hell and back. Having someone depend on him, having someone he could love, having someone who loved him back, it was something that Bakura wanted to protect. He had to take Ryou with him: he didn't want the man who took everything away from him to destroy what cherished joy he had found in the world.

Bakura lightly shook Ryou.

"Mm? Kura?" the child murmured, slightly confused as he stirred awake.

"Ryou…let's run away."

---

AN: Erk, it's a little corny, ne? Yes, no? I didn't know how else to have Bakura come to his conclusion about Ryou. Hope it worked. Thanks for reading! Expect the next update on **Monday **or **Tuesday. **I'm sorry this chapter was a day late. For some odd reason, I keep finding myself in the midst of a packed and busy schedule…grumbles. Please review!


	8. A New Beginning

AN: Eh, the chapter title is a little cliché, sorry. Hm, what have I got to say about this chapter…it was hard to write. (Argh, this story in general is hard to write. ;;) Especially the end and middle, because…well, can't explain without spoilers.

Hehe, please enjoy reading the seventh chapter.

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: I know! They drink too much! And yes, it was great of Bakura to take Ryou along…though I wonder what it will cost him. Thanks for the review!

casaragi: Hey, you're not alone; I hate Bakura's father as well. Stupid old man! Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: Aren't they? Geez, the mom's no help, and the dad's a complete jerk. Poor Bakura and Ryou…glad they're running away, ne? Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: Hehehe, all that (and maybe more…??) will be revealed in this chapter. Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: I hope so too, and I agree about their parents. What jerks! Thanks for the review!

AnimeNymph: Lol, I bought one, by the way. And yes, your words exactly: The quest begins! Thanks for the review!

Anei Aikouka: Haha, the image was priceless for me. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Seven: A New Beginning

"What?" the child muttered, jaw slightly ajar. _I must still be sleeping…_

Bakura lightly pressed a finger against Ryou's lips, to emphasize the importance of silence, before he started packing again. Over his shoulder, he softly said, "Get dressed, out of the pajamas. Shoes are next to the door."

Still not quite awake, Ryou groggily hauled himself up to a sitting position. Glancing down at his attire, then back at the dresser where Bakura was sifting through things, Ryou noted that the teen was still in his casual clothes with his sneakers on. Too tired and sleepy to dress just yet, the child watched his brother rummage about their room as a million questions pounded at the doors of his mind. He ignored them, since he really didn't need a headache right now.

A pair of shirts, pants, undergarments – everything Bakura thought as a necessity and easy to carry around was shoved into Ryou's backpack. After a few minutes, Bakura paused in front of the bunk beds, quickly checking his mental list of things. Then he let out a shaky breath and got on his hands on knees, reaching under the lower bunk. As he felt around the dusty blackness for anything resembling a box, Bakura ordered the child to get a coat. "It's chilly outside."

That seemed to wake Ryou like water being splashed on him. "What? Why?" the child whispered impatiently, obviously confused. He gently slid off the bed, trudging over to the small dresser they shared. As hastily as he could, Ryou changed into some jeans and a short sleeve as he tried to wake up. He pulled out the new dark blue windbreaker that Bakura had bought for him and wriggled into it, but he kept pestering Bakura with questions as he tied his tennis shoes.

"Where are we going? Bakura, we aren't really running away, are we? And why-"

Bakura shushed the boy as he dragged out a cardboard box from underneath the bed. Though Ryou stood behind him, clearly demanding an explanation, Bakura paid no attention to him as he delved into the box.

Ryou stared at the contents of the crate as the teen transferred handfuls of dollar bills into the Blue Eyes backpack. It didn't wholly register to the child what Bakura was planning to do until he saw the rope ladder sprawled across the bottom of the box.

Like a light bulb going off somewhere in his head, Ryou's mind took in the sight and kind of comprehended the meaning. _This is…he means…he really means to…_

However, before the boy could say anything, Bakura scooped up the ladder and shoved the cardboard carton underneath the bed. Then he hurriedly got to his feet and shouldered the backpack as he made his way to the only window that their room had.

_This can't be happening_, Ryou thought, finding it hard to breathe as his brother struggled to open the window. Out of panic, the child rushed over to where Bakura was and tried to yank the screen shut.

"What are you doing?" Bakura hissed.

"You're crazy," Ryou shot back, shaking his head. "What are _you_ doing?"

Bakura swallowed hard, looking out the window. "We have to run away."

"Why?!" Ryou cried, feeling tears swell up. His mouth was immediately covered by Bakura's hands, smoldering any sound that would have escaped his lips.

"Shush, you'll wake him up," Bakura murmured, referring to their snoring father on the couch downstairs. The teen slowly removed his hands. He turned back to the window, only to be stopped by the child again.

"I don't want to go," Ryou softly said, glaring angrily at Bakura. "Why do we have to go?" He wasn't going to give up his new life so easily. Everything, for the first time in his life, was actually okay. He was _happy_. He could laugh and smile and he even had friends at school. He didn't have to lie about not having a lunch, he didn't have to walk to school alone, he didn't have to feel the pain of watching other kids getting picked up by their parents while no one came for him.

Bakura nearly crumbled under the scorching look of revulsion that Ryou gave him. He didn't know why the boy didn't want to go, but he realized that his brother couldn't understand. Bakura had always sent him up to the room to keep hidden from Ryou's eyes and ears what his father made him do, which was everything and anything he wanted to be done. It hurt him to see that Ryou didn't want to leave, but he knew he couldn't blame the child. It had been his decision to leave certain things veiled.

Ryou almost wrenched away when Bakura cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder. The boy refused to look at the teen standing before him, mainly because he didn't want Bakura to see him crying. Why did this have to happen? Why was his life always messed up and in jumbled pieces? How come he couldn't have a normal life, like other people?

"Ryou, I…" Bakura felt his words trail off, completely at a loss for what to say. How could he explain without actually telling him what he had suffered through?

For a few minutes, the two awkwardly stood before each other, silence thickly draping the air.

"How come nobody told me that father lost his job?" Ryou hoarsely asked.

Bakura felt another pang of guilt as he whispered, "You shouldn't have to worry about things like that." _That bastard shouldn't have lost his job, then you wouldn't have to worry about all this._

"Is that why…that letter came?"

"…Because father lost his job, we lost our flow of income, of money. We can't afford to pay for your schooling anymore." Bakura tightened his grip on Ryou's shoulder as the anger from the bitter betrayal he had faced earlier resurfaced in his mind. "He told me that your education would be taken care of, that he would pay for all of it." _As long as I did as he said. _

Ryou was quiet for a moment as he tried to imagine not going to school. Then he realized that if they stayed here, if they stayed with their 'parents', he wouldn't be going to school anyway. "I-I can drop out of school," Ryou insisted halfheartedly, impulsively resting his head against Bakura's stomach. Either way, he had to drop out, right? Maybe running away wasn't so bad…at least they would get away from the creepy man and woman that were his legal guardians.

"That's a lie," Bakura murmured, wrapping his arms around the child's shoulders. He knew how much the boy loved learning. "Besides…when we find a place far away from here, you won't have to stay in your room all night by yourself. And…and you can keep going to school. I'll find a way to pay for your schooling." _I'll work hard so you can be whatever you want to be when you grow up. _

Bakura felt a lump grow in his throat as Ryou tightly hugged him around his waist. Those words, _You can keep going to school_, were priceless to the child. _Bakura, I promise I'll study hard and make a lot of money for the both of us. _

_Then maybe you won't look so sad all the time anymore. _

As Ryou pulled himself away from his brother and stumbled toward the window, he quickly wiped his tear-stained cheeks as he struggled to get the rope ladder in place. Bakura helped him, and eventually they got it to stay in a sturdy position.

Ryou went first out the window, and as much as he was afraid of heights, he landed with two feet solidly planted on the ground. Bakura tossed down his bulging backpack, and Ryou impatiently waited at the base of the ladder, a little terrified of not only the dark, but of what they were doing.

As soon as Bakura was standing next to him, Ryou grabbed the teen's warm hand. The child clenched it as they made their way down the street and toward the closest subway.

On the last stretch of sidewalk on their home street, Ryou glanced up at Bakura to see if he was going to look back. He wasn't.

Fighting the urge to peek over his shoulder, Ryou tightly held onto Bakura's hand as they turned the corner.

"Bakura, I love you."

The teen blinked back tears in surprise. It had been hard enough walking away from the nightmare he was still horrified of, but hearing those words…

He ruffled the boy's snow-colored hair, whispering, "Love you, too."

---  
AN: Hm…I don't know what to say. ;; I know it was a little messy…I think. I hope you liked it, and please review. It was kind of hard to decide on how this scene was going to play out…any feedback on it would be nice. Uh, expect the next update by **Friday **or **Saturday** night. Thanks for reading!


	9. First Acquaintance

AN: Ah, I never clearly explained: In most Asian countries, students/family members have to pay for tuition, even for public schools…and the story takes place in Japan. Hope that cleared up any misunderstandings. 

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: I hope so too! One day, Bakura will have to explain things to Ryou, but for now, hopefully Ryou gets it. Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: Lol, that's great to hear! Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: I'm glad they're running away, too. Hopefully their new life will be good. Thanks for the review!

AnimeNymph: Haha, okay! Thanks for the review!

casaragi: Really? I'm glad! Thanks for the review!

Spirited-Lilly: Yay! That really makes me happy!  Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Alright! Some improvement! Lol. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Heh, no problem. Bakura's not 'ebil'!! Haha, wonder what made you change your mind? He's a nicer guy than he seems, yeah? And I'm really pleased to hear that. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Eight: First Acquaintance

Bakura's arms were growing numb, and he could feel sleep just waiting to take him. Grunting in annoyance, Bakura shook his head and sighed as he repositioned himself, taking care not to disturb the lightly snoring Ryou in his arms. The seats of the subway train were hard plastic, making the journey uncomfortable. However, it wasn't as awkward as the stares he was receiving from people. _I guess I would look kind of strange with a kid in my arms, and a Blue Eyes White Dragon backpack wedged between my legs, _Bakura amusedly thought.

He heaved another sigh as the pain of his body deteriorating returned with his wakefulness. _God, I can't wait to sleep…_But Bakura knew he wouldn't get that chance unless they checked into some kind of homeless shelter.

Could he risk it? Wouldn't the first place his father may possibly check be all the homeless shelters of Tokyo? Was it guaranteed that the social workers at the havens didn't tell anyone who was staying at the sanctuary? Bakura gritted his teeth as he went over the scenario again. He couldn't recall whether or not homeless shelters gave away information concerning runaways. And couldn't the government take away Ryou, saying that he would be better off in foster care than in a shelter? _I should've done a little research on this stuff before just…argh. _

Once again, Bakura arrived at the same conclusion. He couldn't risk going to a shelter, not when Ryou's future as well as his, hung in the balance.

So what was he going to do now?

_I…I have to get out of Tokyo…_

His first thought was that he had finally gone insane. _Get out of Tokyo? _a voice sneered. _How are you going to do that? _Bakura closed his eyes as the train rumbled around a corner, thinking fast. He could take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto! The nozomi trains only took about two and a half hours, though the fare was pretty high. If his father was crazy enough to track them that far, he would have a hard time finding them. After all, Kyoto had a population of over 1,400,000. It was the best hiding place.

A small voice broke his chain of thoughts. "Aren't you tired?"

Bakura blinked, trying to focus his bloodshot eyes. "Uh, just a little," he lied, patting Ryou's back.

The child looked curiously at him, cocking his head to the side. "I'm worn out. Were you awake this whole time?" Ryou asked, covering his mouth as he started to yawn.

"Yeah…I was thinking," Bakura said, nodding slowly. He glanced up at the message box to see what stop was coming up. The teen groped at his feet for the backpack; they would have to get off at the next station.

"What were you thinking about?" Ryou enquired again, crawling off Bakura's lap and sitting down next to him as he rubbed a palm against an eye.

Bakura pushed himself up as the train started slowing down. Ryou followed suit, and almost fell over. "Careful!" Grabbing the child's hand, Bakura answered, "I was thinking about where we're going next."

As soon as the train came to a complete stop, the doors opened and a few people got off. Bakura and Ryou stepped across the threshold, and found themselves in a dark corridor of half-broken lights.

"And?"

Bakura led the way to the escalators, keeping a strong grip on his little brother's hand. "And I believe we're going to Kyoto."

"Eh?! We're leaving Tokyo?" Ryou exclaimed, obviously wide awake now.

Bakura didn't say anything as he glanced up and down the street. "Which way to the shinkansen?" he muttered under his breath.

* * *

Thankfully sinking into a plush seat on a nozomi train, Bakura immediately started to nod off. The problem of money was already pressing his mind, especially since it had taken over half his yen to buy one-way train tickets to Kyoto for both his brother and him. However, fatigue clamped down on his body and dragged him off to much needed sleep before he could even start to actually worry.

"Look, Bakura! You can see the-" Ryou glimpsed over his shoulder from his position next to the window and saw his brother dozing off. He swallowed hard as he slowly sat back, feeling a little bummed. As he settled in for a long, silent ride, the boy studied the unconscious Bakura.

The child couldn't help feeling a little hurt at how fast Bakura had fallen asleep, but he also felt relieved that his brother was getting rest. _He looks too pale…_Ryou thought. _Or maybe it's just the lights…_

It felt like the minutes were crawling by as slowly as they could to Ryou. The child tried to amuse himself on the train ride by simple things, such as watching the scenery fly by. Yet it all only worked for so long. Soon the child was bored, and even when he tried to sleep, he felt like he was buzzing with energy.

Ryou found he was tempted again and again to awaken his brother for company, even though he knew he was exhausted. However, the child restrained the urge until the very last minute, when the shinkansen pulled into a station in Kyoto.

To Bakura, it felt like he had just closed his eyes when Ryou shook him awake. "We're here!" the boy said, looking anxious. As Bakura groaned, feeling his body complain as he tried to stretch, Ryou excitedly pranced around the window and gazed at passersby. "Come on, Bakura! Let's go!" Ryou got the teen to stand. Bakura winced as he stretched a little, shaking off sleep, before he reached for the compartment overhead that held their backpack of possessions.

Ryou lead the way off the train, but as soon as they stepped off, the child slipped his hand into Bakura's. "Where do we go?" Ryou asked, looking this way and that.

Bakura took a deep breath, still trying to pull himself together.

"Bakura, which way?" Ryou asked impatiently, gently squeezing the teen's hand.

He looked up at Bakura in time to see the teen raise a hand to his face before he passed out.

Ryou was too shocked to scream. Trembling, the boy knelt next to his brother's fallen form and tentatively reached out to touch it. "B-Bakura?" He immediately pulled his hand back as he started to shake uncontrollably. "Bakura?!"

The child screamed his name again, afraid to touch the body. He was frightened, completely and utterly frightened, that Bakura was dead. His mind was too numb to tell him that was impossible. His eyes, though, told him that what he saw before him…

People were already starting to gather around, murmuring and pointing. Ryou was starting to feel suffocated. Why wasn't anyone helping him? Why were they all just standing there?

"Move out of the way, folks," a gruff voice growled. Ryou slowly looked up as an angry-looking sandy-haired teen break through the crowd. The tan stranger glanced down at Bakura, then back at Ryou. His expression never changed.

He was about to move away when Ryou weakly reached out. "H-help…"

Hard eyes almost glared at Ryou's crying chocolate ones when someone shouted.

"Marik! Wait for me!"

Ryou was too traumatized to be surprised to see an almost identical man emerge from the crowd, and so was the teen called Marik.

"I thought I said to-" Marik irately began, but his friend cut him off.

"I can get my luggage myself - what happened here?"

The shorter, more softly-featured teen took one glance at Ryou's empty eyes and knelt across from the child as he quickly examined Bakura. A numb Ryou mutely watched the teen check for a pulse and murmur some things to himself.

The kneeling teen kindly smiled as he looked at Ryou. "Don't cry, kid. He's going to be okay." Ryou didn't say a word, looking lifeless, but the teen just turned his attention to his lookalike and said, "Marik, pick him up. You have to carry him."

--  
AN: It was a little slow in the beginning, but the end was okay, right? (I didn't get a chance to edit thoroughly…it took too long to do the research :;) Please review! Hrm…expect the next chapter by **Monday** or **Tuesday** night! Thanks for reading!


	10. Humanity

AN:

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Yeah, I hope so, too. Ah, and Bakura! It must be hard to deal with all that at once…Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: Lol, glad they're welcomed so jubilantly. Thanks for the review!

Spirited-Lilly: Poor Bakura…we shall find out in Chapter Nine, won't we? Thanks for the review!

casaragi: Haha, I really like them, too! I hope they can help…Thanks for the review!

D.H. Knightly: I'm happy to hear that! Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Heh, my bad. It was getting too long. To compensate, this chapter is an extra page long. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Nine: Humanity

_**Everything was dark. Pitch black dark. **_

_**The first thing that occurred to him was Ryou's absence. **__Why isn't he beside me? __**He didn't know, but he had to find out. **_

_**Bakura took a step forward before a voice whispered gloatingly, "You let him out of your sight." **_

_**At first, he maliciously shoved the voice away, choosing not to acknowledge it. However, the reference to Ryou made him hesitate for a split second, wedging a bit of trepidation into his mind. **__No, __**the teen shook his head, as if trying to convince himself that the dreadful voice was wrong. **__He's with me, I swear he is! _

"_**Do you even know what you're doing?" the mocking voice taunted. "Do you even know where he is?" Bakura glanced around him, seeing nothing but black. **__No…no! __**Panic started to fill him, to stifle him, to drown him. It was slow at first, but the more he struggled and the more his efforts resulted in no little brother, the fear started to turn from a trickle into a violent flood. It was forcing its way down into his throat, like unwelcome water. **_

"_**Don't touch him! Get away from him!" Bakura shouted, his voice near the edge of cracking. "You can't…take him…" He was getting desperate, flinging his arms to either side of him in hopes of even the slightest brush of Ryou, running frantically in this direction and that. **_

_**Bakura felt air rush past him as he tripped. For a moment, Bakura froze, utterly terrified. **__Get up! __**a part of himself shrieked, his mind afire. **__Get up before he takes him back! Get up before you lose him! __**As he scrambled to his feet, he couldn't suppress screaming a desperate "Ryou!" into the nothingness engulfing him. **_

"_**I'm disappointed, Bakura," the mocking voice said airily. There was a chuckle as Bakura sank back to the ground, shaking. "I thought you would take better care of things that mattered to you. Now, all that suffering…for naught." **_

"_**Because I have him." **_

Bakura woke with a start.

"It's about time you got up," a voice growled.

Like a scared cat, Bakura cautiously glanced at his side as he fought to breathe. Instead of seeing the sneering businessman that he had expected, a tanned Egyptian teen was glaring at him with his arms crossed. Bakura was trembling still, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over as he swallowed hard. _Get a grip, _he thought fiercely, trying to repress the fear crawling all over him as he tried to recompose himself.

"W-who are you?" Bakura asked, unsuccessfully hiding the fear laced in his weak voice. He would have scowled, but for fear of his father walking through the door far behind the stranger, he bit down on it.

The youth didn't answer. His eyes traveled down to the white-haired teen's bed sheets, which were clenched tightly by Bakura's hands.

Dark, hard purple eyes that belonged to the sitting youth narrowed. "Are you okay?"

Bakura ignored the question as he pulled himself into a sitting position. He closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth, telling himself that it was just a dream. _More like a nightmare from hell, _he thought bitterly. Nevertheless, an urge to confirm his thoughts by seeing his brother emerged with heightened intensity.

A horde of questions rained down on the teen as he took a deep breath and finally got his breathing under control. However, the most pressing one was blurted out a little too forcefully. "Where's Ryou?"

The teen said nothing at first, obviously a little irked about having his question ignored. Then, gruffly, the stranger muttered, "He's fine."

"I want to see him."

The words had barely left Bakura's lips when the door opened and a sullen child trudged in. As the boy looked up and saw a conscious Bakura on the bed, he visibly brightened tenfold.

"Bakura!" shouted Ryou rather ecstatically, sprinting to the bed. He didn't waste anytime as he hastily clambered up and threw his arms around Bakura, weeping for joy.

_He's safe, he's okay, he's here…_Usually, the teen would have pulled away after a few seconds of holding Ryou, but his arms just tautened at the thought of releasing his little brother, the words from his nightmare still freshly imprinted in his mind.

_**I thought you would take better care of things that mattered to you. **_

Bakura held Ryou close for a little longer before he permitted his arms to go slack, letting loose a jubilant Ryou. _He won't come back…he's gone…I've cleaned my hands of him, _Bakura reassured himself, though it felt more like he was lying. But all that mattered was Ryou was here. Now drained of what little energy he had harbored just moments before, Bakura laid back and heaved a sigh as another teen entered the threshold.

"My, my, no wonder Ryou sounded so happy," said the newcomer warmly. Bakura blinked as he looked from one Egyptian to the other, noting that despite looking like twins, the newcomer had much softer features than the glaring one. "I'm Malik, nice to meet you."

Bakura warily watched this 'Malik' as he pulled up a chair next to his twin. He didn't say anything as there was a pause, clearly for the bedridden teen to introduce himself.

However, no words escaped Bakura's lips as he continued to keep eye contact with Malik, feeling quite confused. He was so desperate to ask the questions hurdling around in his head, yet he simply couldn't speak. Did he dare trust these new arrivals?

Ryou noticed the awkward silence hanging between his brother and his new companions. He took a breath before he cleared his throat. "Bakura," the child said quite loudly, "these people helped us when you fainted at the train station."

Malik saw Bakura's confused look again, and quietly explained, "Fatigue caught up to you."

There was a nod from Bakura as he mentally slammed his head into a wall. How he could have been so stupid? Such a simple mistake, it could've led to their recapture! _What was I thinking? _Bakura angrily seethed to himself. His misstep could have resulted in social workers taking both him and his brother to an orphanage, or foster care, or back to his parents if they had filed a 'missing children' report.

Then the nightmare flashed in his memory, like a knife sliding into his stomach.

_**Do you even know what you're doing? **_

Bakura's entire body tensed again, and his hands fisted the bed sheets once more. _Stop it, _he shouted at himself. _It was just a nightmare…just a dream. _And with that, he tried hard to shove his father's echoing words to the farthest reaches of his chaotic mind.

But he couldn't stop to think… What the heck _was _he doing? How was he going to take care of Ryou? What kind of guardian would faint from _exhaustion _to leave those under their protection vulnerable? He should've known what his limits were, how far he could go, how much he could take.

"Malik, go get some groceries…take Ryou with you," a stiff voice said.

Malik tried to protest. "But Marik-"

"_Now._"

Malik glared at his counterpart before he murmured, "C'mon, Ryou, let's go."

Ryou, who was reluctant about leaving so soon, uncertainly looked back at his brother, who was about to say something.

"We can trust them," Ryou hastily said. Bakura blinked, closing his mouth. "I-I'll be right back, I promise." Ryou gave his brother's hand a squeeze before bounding off the bed and following the retreating Malik. He glanced back once to smile and wave before he left.

Though the child didn't know it, his words had hit Bakura even harder than a gun could achieve. Bakura would have stopped him, called him back, kept him by his side, but the way Ryou seemed to actually trust these strangers… Where had he been while his brother… Shouldn't he have come to that decision? As the older brother? Again, Bakura was reminded of his failure as the guardian.

Marik watched the door close, and waited for the two younger siblings to be out of earshot before he quietly said, "I need to know."

Bakura couldn't speak, for all sound left him when his brother had said those words. At first, he avoided Marik's eyes, grimly staring at the closed door.

"Tell me why a high schooler, and a kid who's not even ten years old, ended up in Kyoto all by themselves." Marik finally got Bakura's attention, as the teen slowly looked at him. Whatever the Egyptian had expected, it wasn't what he saw. The hard purple eyes struggled to maintain a glare as guarded pale lavender eyes with a hint of night stared back at him.

"We ranaway," Bakura simply said. Then he fumbled for words, averting his gaze back to his hands. "We…my father…I tried…"

Marik was quiet for a moment, studying the younger teen before him. There was a struggle between fear, suspicion, confusion, and much more chaos. He could see the lines of weariness that should only appear in adults, the braced determination and resolve, but also the fragility of it all. Fragile, because the balance was dependent heavily upon the wellbeing of a child.

He wanted to know more, like why they had fled or where they were from. However, Marik knew that even he couldn't bring himself to inquire about such things. The teen before him looked on the verge of shattering, at the mercy of the cruelty of the world.

"Do you know anyone here in Kyoto, any relatives?" Marik finally asked.

Bakura shook his head, realizing just how foolish his ambition had been. How was he going to support both Ryou and him when-

"As soon as you get a job, you pay half the rent for this condo."

Bakura blinked, not sure if what he had heard just then had been his imagination at work.

"Of course, don't get out of that bed until Malik gives you the say-so," Marik murmured, staring at the ceiling as he thought. Then he glanced back at Bakura, and almost laughed at the teen's puzzled expression. "It'll be easier to pay rent when I only have to worry about half of it."

Bakura fell silent again, at a loss for words. Kindness was something he was still suspicious of, not having many encounters with it. He would have refused the offer, he would have laughed it all off, or even just glared, but the thought of wandering Kyoto with Ryou and no roof above their heads…

"You can stay as long as you need."

So tempted to ask why, but afraid of what it might entail, Bakura swallowed hard before he hesitantly put faith in someone he barely knew, something he hadn't done in years. Living only a few months with someone he could finally call 'family', someone he could finally trust and love, had opened to him the possibility that perhaps not all humans were shameless, greedy monsters like his parents.

Unable to speak, Bakura met the stranger's gaze in gruff but somewhat grateful way.

---  
AN: Whew, I'm sorry this chapter is late. It took FOREVER to edit. I hope it wasn't too corny or abrupt…please review! Hm, the next update will be on **Saturday **or **Sunday **night (shooting for Saturday). Thanks for reading!


	11. Take Me Home

AN: Hm, this chapter was a little easier to write than the last. It was…well, you'll see.

Thanks to…

FlyingShadow666: Yeah, I hope everything works out well. What will Bakura do for money? Thanks for the review!

casaragi: Haha, even though Marik was trying to act tough, he's really a good guy inside. And yeah, Bakura was kind of breaking apart, huh? Thanks for the review!

D.H. Knightly: I was debating on which way to introduce Marik and Malik. I'm glad I picked a good one. (Ah, the OOC-ness…I didn't know if I ought to add that in or not…you'll see what I mean later, though not in this chapter). Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: Hey, that's a pretty good guess (though I don't know if I'm going to reveal why Marik did what he did later in the story yet). Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: Glad to hear it. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Heh, I hope to clear things up in the next few chapters. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Ten: Take Me Home

Marik slowly closed the door behind him as he left Bakura to rest. After a quick sweep of the room, he plopped down onto a black and white sofa in the living room. Reaching for the remote that went with the big screen TV, Marik flicked through channels for anything that caught his interest in order to block out the feud raging in his mind.

How could he trust a stranger to pay for half the rent? The only thing that worked in the teen's favor was that little tyke. While the high school student was out, Ryou had definitely left an impression on Marik and Malik as a good kid. He had helped around the house and was quite talkative with a great sense of humor, polite and clean. On the other hand, his claimed brother, Bakura, was a different story.

However, that was as far as Marik's thoughts went, halted by the return of Ryou and Malik.

As the door burst open, two people with grocery bags hurried inside and set the heavy items down in the kitchen. Brushing his hands on his pants, the younger one basically ran over to Marik. "How is he?" were Ryou's first words.

Marik shrugged, not sure as to what so say.

"Let's check on him," Malik said, smiling at Ryou as he walked toward Bakura's room. Marik yawned as Ryou quickly followed the tanned youth, briefly giving Marik a wave as he closed the door behind him.

Bakura was too tired to sit up this time, much less glare at the people who dared to interrupt his nap.

"Bakura!" said Ryou jubilantly. He was grinning, clambering up onto the bed again. Wincing a little, Bakura tried to move aside to make room, but his body wasn't responding so well.

"Are you feeling dizzy at all?" Malik asked.

The bedridden teen shook his head as Malik took Marik's previous seat.

"Still tired, though, right?" Another nod. Malik looked thoughtful for a minute, as if trying to decide from many different choices. Bakura watched him carefully, a little curious regarding what kind of person this Egyptian was since Ryou seemed to be on good terms with him.

"Hm, I think good, healthy meals and lots of rest is all you need," Malik concluded.

"So he has to stay in bed a little longer?" There was a slight whine in Ryou's voice as Malik said yes. Bakura was tempted to chuckle, but he didn't have the strength. Ryou pursed his lips and said nothing as he took a deep breath. "Hurry and get better, quick, Bakura," he finally murmured, laying his head on his brother's stomach. _I wanna go play at the park! _

Bakura heard Malik get up and leave, muttering something about dinner. He hoped that the tanned youth would come and get Ryou when it was time to eat, since the child was fast asleep now.

Softly placing a hand on Ryou's head, Bakura stared at the ceiling, reflecting on the confusing events and twists his life had now taken. As he felt himself drifting off into unconsciousness, one concept remained imprinted in his mind.

_I've got to find a job. _

--- 

It was only a few days later when Bakura felt strong enough to get out of bed. Malik made sure he didn't overexert himself, until Marik took him to stop fussing over the teen like a mother.

Bakura wanted to find work as soon as he could. Already the last term of Ryou's third grade was starting, and he didn't have any money to enroll him into a school. He needed to start working, and fast, if he didn't want Ryou to end up repeating a grade. Bakura, who wasn't quite sure about how to find a job, received a list of places looking for a hand to hire from Marik. 

"I found them in the newspaper," Marik said. "I didn't go around and see what kind of jobs they were, though, so if the place looks fishy or odd, skip it."

"I'm not a complete idiot," Bakura shot back as he scanned the list. Marik scoffed as he ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. Then, as Bakura opened the door to begin his job hunt, he muttered a 'thanks'.

---

Two weeks later found Ryou enjoying his last week of no school. Starting next week, he would attend a public elementary school with high recommendations that Bakura had enrolled him in. Yet he couldn't feel very excited. As much as he loved learning, the feeling of having no homework and much more free time was something he took pleasure in at the moment.

"It's not too far from here, so we can walk," Bakura said as they pulled out an old chess set of Malik's. "I'll drop you off before I go to work, but I can't pick you up after school anymore."

"What?!" Ryou dropped the rook he held in his hand, jerking his head up to face his brother. "Why?"

Bakura didn't meet his accusing eyes as he continued to set up the rest of the pieces. "You know I work during and after your school hours, Ryou."

The child knew too well. Bakura's new job at a shipping company required him to be there, ready to move large and heavy boxes, at eight in the morning. He had figured that Bakura would come pick him up at school anyways, take him home, and then go back to work. However, when he told Marik this, the teen shook his head. "That's not how it works," he had said, but Ryou had refused to believe him.

"So you can't – you won't come to pick me up?" Ryou asked, confused and a little furious.

"It's not that I won't, Ryou. I can't."

Ryou glared at his brother, biting back the urge to cry. "Then no one's going to pick me up?"

"Malik said he would."

"But I don't want Malik to pick me up!" Ryou shouted, scrambling to his feet. Bakura heaved a sigh as he leaned back against the couch, still sitting.

"Stop it, Ryou. I'm too tired for this," murmured Bakura, resting his head in his hands.

But Ryou couldn't stop. "I want you to pick me up! You have come take me home! It has to be you!"

"Drop it, kid," Bakura warned, fed up with trying to reason.

Ryou ground his teeth as he continued to glare at his brother.

"You go first." Bakura pointed to the chess board.

Ryou was still for a moment as he felt fire flare all over his insides. Slowly, he balled his hands up, seething, and kicked the board away, sending chessmen flying. Then he stomped to his room and slammed the door.

---

AN: Hm, their first fight since running away. Please review! Expect the next chapter by **Thursday **or **Friday**. Thanks for reading!


	12. Five Words

AN: I'm really sorry this chapter is late. I knew I was going to be really busy this last week, so I gave myself an extra two days to update than usual, but I still didn't make it. ;; So, to make up for the tardiness, I've added an extra two pages to this chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: I think he's learning from Bakura, but he's also behaving like a child…I'm glad Bakura's found a steady job as well. Thanks for the review!

Anei Aikouka: Ah, thanks so much! I'm happy to hear it. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Hm, I'm glad. And yes, you _could _go with either side, ne? Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: Ryou really loves Bakura a lot, huh? Can't be anyone but Bakura…Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Yeah, poor Bakura. But Ryou's also got a point. Thanks for the review!

Spirited-Lilly: Hehe, cool. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Eleven: Five Words

Bakura slumped back against the couch, closing his eyes as guilt washed over him. _I shouldn't have been so terse with him_, he thought, regretting the way he had taken things. Of course Ryou wouldn't understand. Didn't he say that things would be better after they ran away?

It was better for Bakura so far. He didn't mind working the twelve-hour shift from eight in the morning to eight at night. It was definitely better than slaving away for his father. But then, his job ate up almost all the time he could spend with Ryou, who went to bed at half past nine. There was no doubt that Ryou was going to fuss about it once school started.

Bakura heaved a sigh as he pulled himself up and lay down on the couch. He felt absolutely miserable at the moment, and didn't even acknowledge Marik's presence when he came home.

"Hey, what's with all the chess pieces?"

Ignoring the Egyptian's question, Bakura pretended to be sleeping.

Marik slowly made his way to the lounging teen and poked Bakura. "Where's Ryou? I thought – OW!" Bakura glanced at Marik, and saw him massaging a foot as he growled, "Clean up your mess! I just stepped on some stupid little chessman…"

Bakura closed his eyes again, saying nothing. All he wanted was to rest.

"Hmph, I'll ask Ryou to clean it up…Bakura, could you run to the super market and get some Coke? Pepsi, maybe?"

"Get it yourself," Bakura snapped, rolling over to his side, leaving Marik facing his back. He was _not _in the mood to interact with anybody right now.

Marik frowned, looking from Bakura to the closed door of the room that Ryou was probably in. "Did you and Ryou fight or something?"

"None of your business!"

There was pause before an indescribable noise reached Bakura. Marik stomp off as he decided he wanted some fresh air and strode quickly across the black and white living room to the balcony on his left. Slightly throwing open the glass doors, Marik winced as they clanged a little loudly against the wall. Then he stepped out onto the steel-wrought terrace, closed the doors, and took a deep breath.

Bakura could be _such a prick _sometimes! _What the hell happened to that humane snow-haired teen that was sick a few weeks ago? _Marik had thought that being rude and indifferent was just a cover for Bakura, but now he was beginning to think it wasn't so. Sure, he was softer when Ryou was around, but his behavior was still stressing the line between polite and rude.

As Marik leaned against the railing of the balcony, he shook his head. He knew he wasn't really that mad about the teen's behavior…it was just really bugging him. If the guy could just explain _why _he was so defensively ill-mannered would…the fact that he wasn't telling anyone…

-

* * *

In the kitchen, a weary Bakura closed the top of the bento box and packed it into Ryou's Blue Eyes White Dragon backpack. Then he quickly washed his hands as he called for his little brother to hurry. Glancing down at his wristwatch as he wiped his hands on a washcloth, he immediately knew what Ryou was doing; he was taking his time so that Bakura would be late to work.

Feeling 'downright terrible' was not enough to describe how Bakura felt. When they had gone school supply shopping a few days ago, Ryou had ignored Bakura the entire time, dumping things into the cart that the teen was pushing. Bakura had seen Ryou grabbing the pricey, name brand notebooks and pencils, but he had said nothing. The fact that Ryou was still mad at him made all the anger vanish without a trace.

As Bakura silently stood by the door, Ryou's backpack in hand, he saw Marik come out of his room. The white-haired teen nodded in greeting, but said nothing as he heaved a sigh and leaned against the coat closet door, waiting.

Marik frowned, and asked, "Where's Ryou? Isn't this his first day?"

Bakura said nothing as he repositioned the backpack onto his shoulder, feeling his bones creak as he also shifted his weight.

It abruptly dawned on Marik exactly what Ryou was doing. The Egyptian clenched his fist, muttering under his breath, "That little…"

Marik strode straight across the living room that they shared and knocked the door open. "Ryou!" he bellowed. "Get moving or you're going to be late!"

A few seconds later, a small child dressed in something that resembled a sailor's suit trudged out, looking grim. He glared ahead as he walked past Marik and Bakura, stepping out of the condo before anyone could break the awkward silence.

"Good luck," Marik murmured to Bakura as he stepped outside to see them off.

Bakura gave a small smile before he started down the hall after Ryou, who was already in the elevator. As soon as Bakura was next to Ryou, the doors closed and the brothers started their descent.

Just like the past week, a weighty silence hung between the two. Bakura was about to hand Ryou is backpack, but he stopped in mid-movement as the doors opened once again, revealing the ground level's lounge. Then, instead of grabbing the bag, Bakura gently took Ryou's hand and led the way out of the building.

As Ryou let himself be guided by his older brother, he couldn't bring himself to look up. He wasn't proud of what he was doing to Bakura. He knew he was being unfair to the point of being plain mean, but when he had agreed to run away, he hadn't agreed to giving up the time he spent with Bakura. _He's a liar_, Ryou thought defiantly, but he knew it wasn't true. Bakura had never promised they would spend a lot of time together. _Probably on purpose_, a bitter voice said.

"We're here."

Ryou sullenly looked up to find a grand structure of metal and glass bearing the letters SHIN ELEMENTARY on its shoulders. He had to admit, he was a little excited to go to a school that looked so solemn with an air of awe. However, when the warm hand holding his slipped away, Ryou forgot that he was mad at Bakura. He couldn't help but glance back, suddenly feeling dwarfed before the school and frightened.

Bakura saw his uncertainty, and slowly knelt next to the child. "Hey, it'll be okay," Bakura muttered gruffly, softly tousling Ryou's hair. The boy swallowed hard and stared at the ground, feeling immensely guilty now as Bakura continued to coax him. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Ryou. You're brilliant like that."

Bakura was almost bowled over as Ryou unexpectedly buried his head into his shirt. "Kura, I'm sorry!" Ryou whispered, clutching his brother's shirt as if his life depended on it. Quietly crying and apologizing, Ryou tried to let out all the black emotions that were suffocating him.

Taken by surprise, Bakura couldn't find any words to say as he rubbed the child's back, placing one arm protectively around him.

"I…I want to go to the park with you! I want you to play with me! I want you to pick me up after school!" Ryou cried, his voice slightly muffled by the teen's shirt. "I don't want you to work…I don't want to go to school while you go to the factory…"

Ryou was afraid of what Bakura was going to say, so he kept his face hidden as he cried and cried. He was scared, scared that Bakura didn't love him anymore, just like all those foster parents. They said they loved him, but after a while, he disappeared from their lives. And always, _always_, the first thing they stopped doing was picking him up. _"I don't have time…just walk home…" _

Ryou's hold on the teen's shirt tightened.

_I want to be loved. _

Regret flung itself onto Bakura as he felt his throat close up. He hated the fact that he had played a major part in making Ryou miserable. No matter how hard he tried, the naivety and innocence of his younger brother was being tainted by his failing efforts. Bakura was trying to hide how hard he worked for Ryou's education. He didn't want Ryou to stress over school, knowing that Bakura was breaking his back for his learning.

But his plan was backfiring! Shoving the child away, to hide the difficulty he was facing, the bruises and blisters on his hands, the exhaustion and fatigue that dogged him, had given Ryou the impression that he didn't care anymore. _Of course, you idiot, _Bakura scolded himself. _He's a child! What more does a child want than love and attention? What's he going to think if you deny him those? _

Bakura gently pulled Ryou off of him, bringing them face to face.

"Ryou… I promise things will be better at home from now on," said Bakura, softly stroking his brother's tear-streaked face. "But I can't pick you up since I can't quit my job. Remember what I said about income? We need income to live at home," Bakura murmured, tapping the child's nose. Ryou bit his lower lip, fighting the urge to start crying again. Then Bakura slowly said, "You need to keep going to school… I'm working hard to send you here because I love you."

Ryou, who had started to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand, froze as the weight of Bakura's words sinking in. **_I'm working hard to send you here because I love you._** His mind was still in a jumble, but one thing was clear to Ryou, and that was all that mattered – _Bakura still loves me._ Relief seeped into every part of his body as Ryou meekly struggled to straighten his thoughts, leaving him lightheaded and feeling very fortunate.

"I'm really sorry I can't pick you up, Ryou. I promise I'll take you to the park tonight, the one a few blocks from Marik's work."

Ryou visibly brightened. "R-really?"

"Yeah." Bakura paused. "I'll take you every few days, okay?"

"M'kay…"

"Can you keep a promise for me, Ryou?"

"What is it?"

"Can you try your best at school for me?"

Ryou blinked. What kind of promise was that? Bakura was working hard, right? To send him here? Then of course he was going to try his best!

Bakura smiled as Ryou nodded eagerly. He was glad to see Ryou happy again, glad that they were on good terms once more. Seeing Ryou like this gave him strength, especially in the face of the long hours of painstaking work that awaited him after this. The teen helped his little brother put on his backpack after Ryou wiped his eyes again with his shirt sleeve.

"Now off you go."

Ryou gave Bakura a quick hug, and as he sprinted toward the school, he abruptly stopped halfway. He turned to face Bakura, shouting five words, before turning around and launching himself at Shin Elementary.

Laughing lightly at his little brother's antics, Bakura watched him go as he took those five words to heart.

"I love you! Bye bye!"

-  
AN: Hm, please tell me what you think! And expect the next update **Wednesday **or **Thursday **night. Thanks for reading!


	13. Trace

AN: I know this chapter took quite some time. I was sick for the past few days, and I couldn't edit to save my life. I'm better now, though, and hopefully won't be sick for the rest of the summer. (It sucked, staying in the house with nothing but a TV by myself…makes a face) Advice for summer: Don't go swimming at night!

Anyways! Thanks to…

ONIX-21: Ah! I'm sorry this chapter was late…Geez, never go swimming at night! I got sick for _three days! _Ehehe…anyways, I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review!

casaragi: I'm glad to hear it. Thanks for the review!

SV Green: Really? Thank you! I'll continue to try to improve my writing skills (and not swim at night). XD It took some time to work out the internal dialogue, and I've been playing around with it throughout this story. I'm glad it's showing. Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: Yeah, Ryou can get quite serious when he wants to. And yes, Bakura does need to go back to school. He needs an education, too! Thanks for the review! (I'm sorry for the long wait).

Spirited-Lilly: Yup, yup, yup! Bakura's still trying to figure out how a child sees things, too. They're both growing up. Thanks for the review!

Superhumansaiyajin: Wow! So many reviews! Lol, I love getting reviews. Well…first of all, I'm sorry for this chapter's tardiness. ;; Don't go swimming at night! You'll get sick (or at least, I did). I'm really happy to hear that you like my story so far, and thanks so much for all the reviews! Now read on!

Chapter Twelve: Trace

The door slid open and Ryou shyly followed the teacher into the room. He always hated this part of transferring schools. Introducing himself always felt awkward, especially since the way everyone stared at him made him feel as if he had said something wrong.

"-going to welcome him warmly."

Ryou felt someone push him gently forward. "H-hi, I'm Ryou…"

The child couldn't bring himself to say anymore. His tongue was tied, and his insides felt like they were going to melt. Helplessly looking back at the teacher, Ryou knew he was blushing as the rest of the class remained silent.

"Why don't you sit in the third row? Next to Takui?"

Ryou hurried toward the seat that his teacher was pointing at, quickly hanging his backpack on his seat and sitting down. He glimpsed at his peers, as if to reassure himself that they weren't staring at him still.

"Hey," a kid whispered.

Looking at the person he was sitting next to, Ryou remembered the teacher calling him Takui. Ryou leaned in a little to show he was listening.

"Let me see your L.T."

Ryou blinked. "M-my what?"

"Your L.T.!" said the kid in a low voice, his eyes darting from Ryou to the teacher and back. "Let me see your laptop!"

Takui took Ryou's confused look for something else. "Oh, c'mon. It's not like I'm going to go out and buy the same one. Sheesh, I just wanna see if you have the newest Apple L.T."

"Why would I have a laptop?" Ryou whispered.

Takui frowned, looking impatient now. "Don't play dumb! You ought to know we do half our assignments on our laptops."

"Half our – what? Why?"

"Because-"

"Takui! Ryou! Don't use this time to talk, please. You have the fifteen minute break to get to know each other."

Ryou and his classmate fell silent as the teacher gave them a stern look. Then she moved on, saying with an air of authority, "Let's begin." There was a small scramble before utter silence once again. Ryou swallowed hard as he realized, with a quick glance, that everyone in the classroom had a laptop on their desk…except for him.

-

* * *

Malik was going crazy.

Running all over the campus of Shin Elementary, the Egyptian teen was worrying himself to death. Where the hell was Ryou? Why hadn't he established a 'pick up' place, to meet the child? Why were there _so many_ little kids?

As Malik frantically looked this way and that for a tuft of white hair, his mind was going into overload. _If I don't find him soon, some weird guy will whisk him away and Bakura will kill me and then Marik will bring me back and kill me, too, and Ryou's going to hate me forever- _

"RYOU!"

Sitting on the front steps of his new school, the small child's head jerked up at his name.

"Ryou! Ryou, you have no idea how happy I am to see ya, kid!" Malik hugged the child so swiftly that he cut off the younger one's air supply.

Ryou gasped as Malik released him, smiling as he asked, "How was your first day?"

The child cleared his throat as he took a moment to think. "It was…surprising."

"Surprising?" Malik repeated, as the two started to walk toward the school gate.

"Er…" Ryou cocked his head to the side as he stared at the sky. "When Bakura said he would send me to a top-notch school, he wasn't kidding." Ryou smiled as Malik laughed, insisting it was true. "I really like it here."

"Well, that's good," said Malik, ruffling Ryou's hair. Then he told the child about his near-heart attack, and they decided to meet at the central staircase after the last bell.

Malik and Ryou passed the gate and started down the sidewalk, toward the general direction of the condo they shared. Chatting as they crossed street after street, Ryou found that walking home with Malik wasn't so bad. In fact, he was enjoying himself quite a bit.

As they turned onto the last stretch of cement, Ryou suddenly looked down at his shoes. "Hey, Malik?"

"Huh?"

"Are…are laptops expensive?"

"Laptops? Hm…good ones certainly aren't cheap." Malik scratched his head, trying to remember anything he could about the slim, portable computers. "I'd say…maybe two thousand dollars for a decent one? Why?"

Ryou jolted to a stop. "Two thousand?"

Malik frowned. "Why?"

"N-nothing," was the hurried reply.

Even though Ryou couldn't understand the value of two thousand dollars, he knew that it was a lot. After all, his school supplies alone cost about fifty dollars. If he did the math… Ryou bit his lip, concerned. He couldn't possible tell Bakura he needed a two thousand dollar laptop for school…

-

* * *

Keisuke Shiguro heaved a sigh as he rubbed his face, tired and wanting sleep. He adjusted his seat a bit before he looked down at the papers before him again. _If I was working in a higher branch, I could make someone else do the filing… _Shiguro carefully stamped the topmost file after briefly scanning it, then proceeded to go through the rest of the files. _No one ever comes to my branch…why? _he thought in vain, groaning as his eyes started to water.

There was a sound of a slam, and it nearly sent Shiguro jumping to his feet.

"Officer, I've got a problem," a strained voice hissed.

Policeman Keisuke Shiguro cleared his throat as he quickly repositioned himself on his chair before he pushed the stack of papers to the side, revealing a well-built man with both hands on the table.

"There was no need for you to, er, slam the table, sir," Shiguro mumbled, blinking rapidly as he tried to shake off the cobwebs shrouding his mind. Excitement made his hands shake, so he quickly clasped them together. "Name, please?"

"Utaka Teishin," the man said, straightening as he eyed the officer in disgust.

Shiguro quickly jotted the name down. "Now what can I help you with, sir?"

The man pulled up a chair as he said, "My two sons have run away from home."

Shiguro happily jiggled his computer mouse to bring the old piece of technology out of sleep mode. "Run away?" he repeated, starting to type the missing person report. Then he frowned, vaguely recalling the reasons for why most children run away; neglect in most cases, abuse in a few, even immaturity sometimes. "Do you know why they ran off?"

"The older one…didn't want the younger one to go to school."

"Eh?" Shiguro stopped typing for a moment, glancing at the man. "Could you explain the situation, sir?"

Mr. Teishin wanted nothing more than to knock this stupid policeman off his chair and tell him to just type the damn report, but he knew appearance was everything at the moment, especially if he wanted the police force on his side. So instead, Utaka coolly nodded and said in a sober voice, "My youngest, Ryou, is easily influenced by his older brother, Bakura. I wanted what was best for my child, so I decided to send Ryou to a private institute of education."

"And your eldest – Bakura – he didn't want his brother to go?"

"Bakura was jealous of Ryou. I believe I am partially to blame, since Bakura seemed to want to go to a private school as well. I should have sent them both, but…" Utaka sadly shook his head. "My mistake as a working father." As the officer sympathized with him, Mr. Teishin fought a smirk.

Soon afterwards, Officer Shiguro asked for dates and pictures, as well as descriptions, for the next half hour. Utaka patiently played the worried father as the policeman finished his report, appearing anxious and distressed.

"Mr. Teishin," the officer assertively said, "I can't guarantee we'll find your sons, but you have my word that we will aspire to locate them as soon as possible."

Utaka Teishin muttered a thank you, bowing. Then, as he turned to leave the station, he couldn't help but smile as he savored the sweet taste of triumph.

_You can't hide forever. I'm coming, Bakura. _

-  
AN: Well, I added a page to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. (I haven't been this sick since third grade! And that was at least five years ago!) I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll update by **Wednesday **or **Thursday **night.


	14. Money Makes the World Go 'Round Part 1

AN: Thanks for all the support! I'm feeling much better now, thanks to modern medicine. I'm sorry I keep falling behind on updates. I swear I'll be on time the next update.

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Thanks! I'm feeling much better now. Lol, I may not get sick often, but I hate being sick. Ah, yes…trouble keeps pounding at the doors for both Ryou and Bakura. Thanks for the review!

casaragi: Lol, I love your plan! Alas, Mr. Teishin walked out of the police station and drove home just fine, no trucks in sight. But I agree with you – he deserves to be hit by a truck. Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: Yeah. _Casaragi _said that he ought to be hit by a truck, and then the truck should explode. Don't you agree? Hehe, yeah, I'm feeling really good now…but I keep falling behind on things. Anyways, thanks for the review!

Superhumansaiyajin: Hm, you've got a point. But I think things are different in Japan…? I'm not sure, but I think top-notch schools take it for granted that if you can pay to get in, you can pay for supplies as well. Geez, Bakura's father should just stay away! Thanks for the review!

wallsmex: Haha, really? I'm glad to hear that! I'm sorry this chapter was late…;; I promise the next one will be here on time. I keep falling behind on things, and they keep pilling up! Lol, I got lazy when I got sick. Anywho, thanks for the review!

Spirited-Lilly: Bakura's dad should just bug off…he keeps raining on our parade. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Lol. That's always welcome. Thanks for the review!

SV Green: Thanks so much for the compliments. And yes, I intend to keep writing…for as long as I can, since I may be too busy once college starts…(still in high school). Thanks for the review!

Chapter Thirteen: Money Makes the World Go Round (Part 1 of 3)

"That's the last one!"

Bakura grunted as he carefully put down the crate he was carrying, pausing briefly to wipe the sweat off of his face. He exhaled slowly, massaging his arms as he made his way to the front of the factory.

The domed ceiling trapped all the air that came into the factory, making the place hot and stuffy. Bakura nodded to some of his coworkers, not really stopping to start a conversation since his lungs craved the nighttime air. The smell of freshly cut wood and sawdust tickled Bakura's nose as he jogged through the side opening of the industrial unit. He would have liked to rest up a bit and take a slow walk home, but he knew he didn't have time.

_Gotta get home, take a shower, and take Ryou to the park…_Bakura sighed as he stretched his arms a bit, feeling sore and tired.

But he was happy. Happy that Ryou and him were doing fine, happy that he wasn't 'working' under that despicable man he had called 'father'. Just remembering what he had to do every night made him wince, sometimes it even made his entire day sour. But this new life…Despite the many ups and downs it possessed, Bakura gladly embraced it. Being able to live with his pride and freedom in tact, and having Ryou by his side, was more than he could possibly ask for.

On the other hand, actually working a real job was no fun. It was tiring, it was arduous, it was downright boring. However, Bakura wholly chose this lifestyle over his last. He didn't mind working for Ryou and himself, since he no longer had to kneel before his father. But he couldn't completely fool himself – there were times when he wanted the freedom of a normal high school student.

"Going home so soon?"

Bakura glanced to his side to see one of his coworkers walking next to him. The blonde man with a short stubby beard stretched his neck as he smiled at Bakura. "You aren't going to go with the others, to the club for drinks?"

"Nah, I can't," Bakura said, his voice somewhat defensive. His age prohibited him from drinking at bars. He had to be careful regarding anything he said with his work, since he had lied about his age to receive the job. "I wasn't aware there was a bar around here."

"It's pretty small," said the man as they arrived at the bus stop. "But you can always make it out because of their sign. Ha, they're always short of employees, that they just keep that 'now hiring' sign out!"

Bakura scoffed softly, but said nothing else. He didn't want the conversation to keep going.

But the man was done talking. "I'm going home since my wife always complains about me staying out late. I swear, I can't even go to the bathroom without her say-so!"

_That's great_, Bakura thought sarcastically as he nodded, looking down the road for the bus.

"I may have to quit my job soon."

That got Bakura's attention. "Why?" he asked, curious.

The blonde man smiled sadly. "Oh, don't you know? The company's lowering our wages again." Bakura felt as if someone had shoved ice down his throat. "It's going down a whole dollar! It's like they don't understand that even a few cents could save a man from being evicted." As the man laughed halfheartedly, Bakura clenched his teeth.

This had been the only job he could find that didn't pay minimum wage. He couldn't afford Ryou's schooling _and _the condo rent with a lowered paycheck. There was no way!

Bakura didn't sit next to his coworker on the bus. His mind was replaying the man's words over and over in his head, making him feel nauseous. _"The company's lowering our wages again." _All the hard work, all the stress, all the time it took…It was consuming almost his entire life right now, yet…_Why isn't it enough? _He felt he had to throw up. Bakura knew this feeling of utter defeat, something he absolutely loathed.

The thought, a nightmare, really, of having to force Ryou to quit school hounded his mind. How could he tell his little brother that he couldn't send him to school because he didn't have enough money? How could he tell Ryou that, when he was doing all he could to ensure a satisfactory life for the both of them?

Already pushed to the brink of exhaustion and anxiety, Bakura felt the urge to scream. He could hear his father's voice, mocking him, ridiculing him. _**"I'm disappointed, Bakura. I thought you would take better care of things that mattered to you." **_

_I can't give in…_He knew what he had to do, but he really didn't want to do it. _How come life is so unfair? _

Bakura couldn't even muster up the strength to curse the gods as he leaned his head against the window and started to cry.

-

* * *

Ryou was anxiously waiting on the couch, checking the door every few minutes. It was a quarter past eight, and Bakura was supposed to be here any minute now. He knew he had to wait for his brother to take a shower first, before they left for the park, but the child couldn't help feeling awfully excited. He had planned out everything they were going to do tonight, from swings to slides to money bars.

"Sit still, Ryou! You're making _me _anxious," Marik growled, flipping through the channels.

Ryou happily turned around and sat down, grinning. He hastily apologized, but it was only a matter of minutes before he would clamber around again, to stare at the door.

"Don't you have homework to do?" Marik asked. "Why don't you do it while you wait for Bakura to come back?"

"I did it already." Ryou's grin grew wider when Marik rolled his eyes.

"Is that what you were doing on my laptop earlier?"

Marik nearly dropped the remote control as Ryou flew over and planted a hand firmly over his mouth.

"You can't tell Bakura," Ryou sternly whispered.

Frowning, Marik peeled the child's hand away and suspiciously looked over Ryou. "Why not?"

As Ryou fidgeted uncomfortably under Marik's gaze, he murmured in a choked sort of way, "Promise me, please Marik?"

Marik never got to ask Ryou why again because the sound of a key grinding in metal made Ryou jump off the couch and run for the door.

"Bakura!"

The tired teen smiled as he was greeted warmly by his brother. Marik waved to Bakura as he pulled himself up from the sofa. "I'll reheat dinner. Take a shower and…"

Marik found himself frowning again as a green flyer in Bakura's hand caught his attention.

Bakura saw what he was looking at, and quickly slid the paper into his back pocket of his jeans.

"Wait just a little longer, Ryou," Bakura said to the child, pinching his cheek playfully. "Then we'll go to the park."

Bakura started to head for the room he shared with Ryou when he met Marik's gaze. Marik lost his words for a moment as wary, shielded lavenders eyes gazed steadily back at him.

Then, before Marik could ask the teen about the flyer, Bakura was gone.

Marik was tempted to go after the teen, but the way Bakura had looked at him…_What is he doing with an ad from Tameron's Bar? _

-

* * *

  
AN: I really need to get back on the ball. Ehehe…I promise I'll update on time next chapter! I keep falling behind with EVERYTHING. (This isn't good…chuckles nervously School starts soon, and I'm already out of sync with due dates). Anyways, expect the next chapter on **Monday** night.


	15. Reprieve

AN: As promised! Here it is! (By the way, part 1, 2 and 3 of 'Money Makes the World go 'Round' aren't consecutive, so…yeah. Please keep that in mind).

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Yeah, Bakura's going to be really tired now, since he's working both the job at the bar and at the factory. Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: Hehe, that's good! Thanks for the review!

casaragi: …XD Yeah, you've got powers. (Does that make you feel more confident in your powers, now? ) A goddess, huh? Does that mean I'm still 'ebil'? And yes, Ryou is sweet to be considering Bakura's worries now. Thanks for the review!

Superhumansaiyajin: It's just serving drinks, but yeah, still a bad place for Bakura. Honestly though, I was having a hard time thinking of a place that operates all night, and a bar was the best one (there was nightclubs, but the bar fit better). Hey! You're in eleventh grade! ME TOO! Haha, that's pretty cool. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Fourteen: Reprieve

As Ryou walked underneath the bright glow of another lamppost, he felt as if he could dance to the ends of the earth and back. Grinning childishly, he tightened his hold on his brother's hand, eager and thrilled about their nighttime excursion. He occasionally snuck a glance up at Bakura as well, to make sure that he wasn't the only one enjoying their walk.

Bakura, who had been in deep thought ever since they had left the condos, noticed what Ryou was doing. He had to laugh at Ryou's cute expression. The child's face was flushed, the tip of his nose was red from the icy wind. The excited yet anxious expression told Bakura just how impatient the boy was to get to the park, making the teen's troubles seem to melt away.

"It's been a while since we've done something together, huh?" Bakura remarked, staring up at the sky as they continued to move forward.

Ryou happily swung their hands a bit as he chortled an agreement. Then he cautiously emphasized his next question. "But that's okay, because we're going to go to the park every few days, right?"

"Right," Bakura replied, his gaze still directed at the dark horizon.

Ryou felt his body receive a reprieve from the tension it had pent up. He had been worried for naught! _Of course Bakura didn't forget his promise. _

"Hey, do you see the park? I can see it."

Ryou enthusiastically narrowed his eyes to get a better look ahead. All he could see was great, looming shadows. However, as they crossed the street together, Ryou realized the shadows were really the fence of grand pine trees surrounding the park. The child took in a breath as the anticipation made him want to sprint toward the entrance.

A gargantuan jungle gym, complete with five different colored slides, a tire swing, and monkeys bars that ran around in a circle, was the first thing to meet Ryou's eyes. It looked new, since the shades of red and blue looked quite vibrant. A beautifully painted merry-go-round was further behind the large play structure, with two whole sets of swings in the other corner, completing the triangle.

"Marik told me that you've got an entire plan figured for tonight," Bakura said, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Ryou laughed as he ran ahead, shouting into the dark, "Swings first!"

The wearisome thoughts and fears of the need for money slowly unclamped itself from Bakura as he played around with Ryou. He jumped off the swings and ran up the slides with the lively child, forgetting, for the moment, about having to work extra hours at night to make up for the cutting of his salary. Racing up and down the chutes and spinning themselves silly on the merry-go-round, time flew by the boys as they shouted names at the stars while laying on the gyratory platform.

Feeling unburdened by the weight of money allowed Bakura to laugh without reserve that night. He was truly relaxing and enjoying himself for the first time in a while.

Later on, the frequent nightly trips to the park, that Ryou so treasured, would be the only thing keeping him sane.

-

* * *

The school bell had rung fifteen minutes ago, letting loose the five hundred children who attended Shin Elementary…all but one.

A small child, no older than eight, found himself sitting in his third grade teacher's office, knowing what this uncalled meeting was for. But it didn't make it easier – Ryou was still nervous. The wooden seat on which the child was perched was too large, hard and uncomfortable. His feet dangled in air, him being too short for them to reach the ground. Feeling dwarfed by everything, the sweating Ryou swallowed hard as he found himself at a loss for words.

"I thought I had made it quite clear that you needed a laptop two days ago, Ryou."

The child winced as the teacher gave him a stern look, not really angry, but disappointed. Studying his feet, Ryou mumbled incoherent words as his excuse.

Mrs. Tamoki sighed as she clicked her newly done nails on her desk. "I'm going to have to call home if I don't see a laptop on your desk next week."

"I'm sorry, I just forgot again," Ryou mumbled, not daring to look up. He knew he was lying, and he felt bad for doing so, but…Bakura looked so tired after he came home from work, and Ryou couldn't bring himself to tell him that he needed two thousand dollars for school.

There was another sigh as Mrs. Tamoki studied the child for a bit longer. Then she sighed again and excused Ryou.

Sliding off the chair and giving a quick bow to his teacher, Ryou darted out of the room and raced toward his classroom. _What am I going to do? _He felt sick with worry as he trudged down the hall, trying hard not to cry. Bakura looked so tired this morning, and he was going to look even more worn-out when he came back this evening. Ryou's hands shook as he crammed his belongings into his backpack. _I need to throw up…_He would have taken a trip to the bathroom, but he was already late to his rendezvous with Malik.

Slowly dragging himself to the front of the school, Ryou kept his eyes glued to the ground as he struggled to open the front doors.

Then he froze upon hearing Malik's voice.

"Yes, I'm one of Ryou's guardians…"

"Hi, I'm Mrs. Tamoki, Ryou's teacher here at Shin Elementary?" Ryou felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach.

As the child slipped through the doors and proceeded to hide behind one of the pillars, he heard Malik brightly say, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Malik." A small part of Ryou was glad that Malik didn't mention his last name.

"Has Ryou told you about our school?" Ryou could hear the suspicious tone in Mrs. Tamoki's voice, probing for any mention of school supplies.

"Well, of course, but is there something specific you'd like to discuss?" Ryou realized Malik's habit of being frank at times came from Marik. However, Malik kept the conversation pleasant while Marik…well…snapping and growling weren't exactly pleasant.

Mrs. Tamoki chuckled. "I'm sure you know that our school is quite prestigious, albeit it is an elementary school. We have excellent desks, whiteboards, text books, and, on top of it all, excelling students."

"Is Ryou failing to meet any of your standards?" Ryou smiled as he detected the sort of joking manner in Malik's speech. _As if I was falling behind! _Ryou thought.

"No, no," Mrs. Tamoki said. "He's doing wonderfully well in class. My only concern is his lack of supplies – you do know that laptops are required for students here?"

"Oh, yes. Don't worry."

Ryou nearly fell over. Did Malik just _lie _to his teacher?

"I received it today. I'm sorry, Ryou must have forgotten to tell you that I ordered it online. Shipping seems to take longer these days than I expected." Both Malik and Mrs. Tamoki laughed. "I apologize for taking so long."

"Oh, no! That's fine. I was just worried that Ryou hadn't told you yet."

Ryou restlessly waited out the rest of the conversation, but it seemed as if his teacher wouldn't take the hints that Malik was frequently dropping. He wanted to scold Malik for lying _to his teacher_! Now he _had _to tell Bakura he needed a laptop. Could his day get any worse?

As soon as Mrs. Tamoki said goodbye and reentered the school, Ryou ran out from behind the pillar to face Malik.

"Hey! There you are!" Malik smiled, as if he hadn't noticed Ryou was eavesdropping the whole time.

Ryou knew better, but that wasn't the issue right now. "Malik, why'd you lie to my teacher?"

Malik cocked his head to the side as he looked thoughtfully at the glaring Ryou. "But I didn't."

The child blinked. He felt, rather than saw, Malik kneel next to him. "You know, Marik's smarter than he looks…as hard as it is to believe!" As Malik laughed, Ryou slowly comprehended the meaning behind the Egyptian's words.

"B-but…"

"Don't worry." Malik winked. "Think of it as a big birthday present from Marik and me." Ryou was about to complain, but Malik clamped a hand over his mouth. "I don't wanna hear it! Do you have any idea how Marik would feel if you refused his gift? Hah, he would throw a tantrum!"

Ryou was quiet for a moment as he bit his lip and fought the urge to cry. Giving Malik a hug, Ryou was thankful that he had more people he could rely on now.

"Thank you, Malik…"

Malik smiled as he picked the child up and carried him home.

-

* * *

  
AN: I didn't get to edit as much as I would have liked, but…please tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! Expect the next update on **Thursday** night!


	16. Money Makes the World Go 'Round Part 2

AN: I do not own Apple! This is my disclaimor! I do not own Apple! (Or any of the YGO cast). Anyways, I made the deadline again today (though barely). Geez, I can never determine how long it takes to edit…it varies too much.

Thanks to…

casaragi: Hehe, even with your powers, I don't think you can kill the evil man that is Bakura's father. Besides, he's still in the story! And yeah, Malik and Marik are nice/cool. Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: I felt as if Malik wasn't getting enough spotlight when I put together the plot, so I revised a few things to make him a little more than 'minor' (a little short of 'major') character. Anyways, I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!

Superhumansaiyajin: Oh, really? School starts that early for you? Hm…my school doesn't start until next Wednesday, lol. And yeah, I agree with you! It was quite nice of Marik to get a laptop for Ryou. Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: A good, strong bond between brothers. Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: I'm not so jealous about the beach this time around. (I got sick last time, remember?) Anyways, I'm glad you noted the relationship, and thanks so much for the reviews!

Chapter Fifteen: Money Makes the World Go 'Round (Part 2 of 3)

Ryou was sitting at the dinner table, happily typing away on his new laptop, when Marik came home. He immediately jumped off and gave the teen a hug, talking a mile-a-minute about the new options and programs his mini computer held. When Ryou said thank you, all Marik did was grunt. "Just don't break it, m'kay?" said the Egyptian as he hung up his coat in the side closet.

The child, who was loving his new Apple laptop, fervently shook his head. "I'm not going to let anyone at school touch it!" Ryou announced as he cheerfully sat back down at the table. Then he quickly added, "Except Takui."

"Ah, that classmate of yours, right?" Marik ruffled the child's head as Ryou sat back down and resumed his homework.

"Yeah! He seems kind of in a hurry all the time, but he's really funny."

Malik walked into the tiled kitchen that adjoined the living room, greeting Marik with a small wave. Then, while he made his way to the many drawers in the kitchen and pulled out cooking utensils, he asked, "Why don't you invite Takui to the park or something sometime? I wouldn't mind taking you guys after school."

"We could," Ryou said, peering at the teen thoughtfully over the screen of his Apple. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" He knew that both Marik and Malik worked during the day, just like Bakura. The last thing he wanted to do was put more stress onto the people who cared for him.

"Not at all," replied Malik. He started to wash vegetables in the sink as Marik sat down across from Ryou.

"Hey Ryou," Marik started. The boy stopped typing for a moment and looked up. The teen slowly took a breath as he tried to decide how to begin. "There's one condition for the laptop. You…can't show Bakura, or tell him about it."

Marik felt a lump grow in his throat when Ryou frowned and asked the question he was hoping to keep buried. "Why not?"

There was a pause as Marik's mind raced for a good way to explain the situation to Ryou. "We shouldn't, uh, bother him about things like this." The Egyptian saw his look-a-like brother wince at the lame answer.

Ryou wasn't dumb. He knew the reason for the secrecy…"It's because he'll get mad, huh?" _It's because we don't have money to spare, isn't it? _

Marik knew the boy's mumbled words were a statement, not a question. He felt bad for asking Ryou to go behind his brother's back about this, but Bakura's health was far more important than his pride at the moment. Already Malik was fussing over the snow-haired youth's wellbeing, only to be snapped at by the defensive teen.

"Tell me you'll keep quiet," Marik quietly said, studying the child.

His head was ducked, so neither Marik or Malik could see him. Ryou, whose hands were now fists in his lap, was struggling to overcome all these awkward feelings. Remorse and resentment were making his heart heavy, but the worst was how miserable he felt, knowing that this was probably for the best. They didn't have money to pay for a laptop right now. He knew Bakura well enough to know for a fact that the teen would demand the laptop to be returned and repurchased with his money. Bakura would buy it, even though they couldn't afford to, because it was for Ryou's school. Sometimes, all the weight of expenses hanging on Bakura made Ryou hate school.

"I…I won't tell…" Ryou finally mumbled.

Marik knew that he should have felt relieved, but he didn't. He glanced up and hastily decided to help Malik prepare dinner, to try to overcome the despondency now settled in the air.

* * *

When Bakura came home that night, he was too tired to even notice how unusually quiet everyone was. As soon as he walked in, he muttered a greeting before taking a quick shower and falling asleep on the couch.

"Don't you want dinner?" Ryou asked, but there was no answer. The only thing he could hear was Bakura was light snoring. Sighing dejectedly, Ryou wrapped the dish in saran wrap and placed it in the fridge.

The silence and dead mood made the feelings twice as awful. Marik was sleeping in the room he shared with Malik, and the latter brother was out teaching a night class at his university. Ryou was about to go to bed himself, when he noticed Bakura was sleeping on the couch.

It hit him that this would probably be the first time in a few months that he'd have to sleep alone. As much as Ryou wanted to wake up his brother and ask him to move to their room, he knew he shouldn't.

_I wish we had a lot of money so he doesn't have to work_, Ryou thought mournfully. But he shook his head and told himself to stop. Bakura was working hard for them. He had no right to complain, especially since his brother was the one suffering.

Yet a rebellious and childish part of Ryou wanted so badly to cry and pout and scream about how much he hated Bakura working. He knew he should have been happy with the promise that his brother had made about going to the park, and he was! But…that one trip to the park had been so much fun, so refreshing! His heart ached for the time spent laughing together with Bakura as they played on the swings, just like old times. He wished he had a lot of money, like most kids in his class, so that Bakura didn't have to go to that stupid factory every day. Then they could go to the park after school every time.

Ryou bit his lip as he felt tears run down his cheeks. _Stop it, you crybaby_, he demanded, angrily wiping them away. It was no good. He knew he shouldn't feel so angry, that he was just being self-centered. However, he couldn't help but storm into his room and throw himself on the bed.

Muffling his sobbing and, on occasion, screaming, with a pillow, Ryou eventually cried himself to sleep.

* * *

The alarm installed on Bakura's wristwatch flashed 12:30 AM in an eerie green blaze, beeping every two seconds or so. Groaning as the fully-dressed Bakura sat up, he groped with his free hand to turn off the annoying sound which had pulled him away from unconsciousness.

Pausing only to stretch for a moment, the teen could feel his back throbbing in pain from lifting too many boxes at work. Cursing under his breath, Bakura got to his feet and shook his head a bit to clear his mind before he silently got up and checked in on Ryou. He had meant to fall asleep on the couch, so that it would make it easier to leave.

_Note to self – never do that again. _Bed covers were sprawled all over the place, with a tear-streaked Ryou in the fetal position. Bakura quietly trudged next to the bed and straightened his little brother's sleeping form before pulling the blanket over the child.

Then he softly kissed the boy on the forehead and muttered an apology.

Afterwards, Bakura walked out of the room and made his way toward the door of the condo.

The blast of cold air that met him when he stepped out from the lounge expelled the last bit of drowsiness. Bakura coughed a bit before he pulled his jacket closer and started down the street for the closest bus stop.

He made it just in time. The bus had pulled up only a moment ago, and a few people had clambered on board. Bakura joined them, and kept to himself as the bus whisked him away from the city lights of Kyoto.

Twenty minutes later found the teen in a large, dark room complete with deafening music and too many wine glasses to count.

A young, handsome man no older than twenty one waved Bakura over, smiling. "Welcome to Tameron's Bar! It's your first day working here, right? Lemme show you the ropes."

-

* * *

  
AN: Whew, that took some time. :) I hope you enjoy. Please review! Expect the next chapter on **Monday **or **Tuesday**! (Probably Tuesday, since Monday's a holiday).


	17. Responsibility

AN: Erk, I'm sorry this chapter is so late (I feel really bad…;;). The first week of school was so overwhelming, it was just…gah. I didn't have time to write anything until last night, and I don't believe I'll be able to update every few days anymore. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I'll have to start updating weekly (on weekends). My school schedule is…O.o…much harder than expected, to say the least.

Anyways, I hope you guys had a good week (either work, school, or just life in general). Thanks to…

Tails7651: Yeah, the kid's not having a good day. Well, I'm glad you still like the story! I'm sorry this chapter was so late…eheh…Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: Ryou is pretty mature for his age, isn't he? And yes, Marik and Malik are being really supportive, and that's always nice to see. Sorry this chapter was late. Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: I've been trying to incorporate more of Malik and Marik into Ryou and Bakura's lives, and it's only just beginning. Lol. Thanks for the review, and I'm sorry this chapter was late.

casaragi: Bakura is working both at the factory and the bar. Since his pay at the factory got cut, he needs more money to make up for the loss, and so takes a nighttime job at Tameron's bar. I'm sorry this next chapter was late, though I hope you like it. Anyways, thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Thanks, I really worked hard on that part. I'm sorry this chapter's late…(sighs) School sucks so far. I mean, who the heck gets an essay and two projects on the first week of school? Anyways, thanks for the review!

Superhumansaiyajin: Hehe, yeah, Takui doesn't sound that great, but people have flaws, right? Either way, it's good for Ryou to have a pal at school. And yeah, it must be hard on him, going behind Bakura's back, though Bakura's fighting his own battle…Physics is the only class I don't have homework in. However, I have an essay in my history class, a project in my health class, and another project in my Spanish class. It's all too much for the first week of school! I'm sorry this chapter's late…stupid homework. Thanks for the review!

SV Green: Ah, I didn't catch that mistake, and neither did Microsoft Word. (Oops). Thanks for catching that, I went back and editted that. ;; It always feels good to hear someone say that about the chapters. Thanks so much! Anyways, I'm sorry this chapter is late. Thanks for the review!

MadPie: Haha, okay! Here it is, even though it's late (sorry 'bout that). Thanks for the review!

Chapter Sixteen: Responsibility

"It says here that you're eighteen. Is that correct?"

Bakura numbly nodded, trying to act relaxed. Nearly half of the things on his resume and application were lies, but he couldn't help it; having quit in his junior year of high school had made sure of that.

"Mmhm, okay…" the man murmured as he continued to scan the papers for the last time. Bakura wanted to say that the manager had already read through everything, but he kept silent. For all he knew, this guy was probably his senior.

"Alright!" The man smiled at Bakura, folding the papers in half and tucking them into one of the multiple pockets adorned on his apron. "I'm Christophe, nice to meetcha!"

Shaking the young man's hand, Bakura gruffly introduced himself as well. "Bakura…Ishtar." _I'm never going to use my father's name ever again. _Christophe gestured for Bakura to follow him behind the limestone counter, talking as he gave Bakura a tour of the bar.

"It's only your first night, so we'll probably have you serve drinks from behind the counter," Christophe explained. As he bent down to pick up a dropped towel, Chris reached into one of the multiple cubbies underneath the bar counter and pulled out a navy-colored apron. "Put this on, no complaints. The pockets enable you to keep lots of receipts, so you know which customers bought what. You only take the apron off when you wait on tables. Are you interested in doing that later on?"

Bakura shook his head. "I-I'll stay behind the counter…"

There was a chuckle as Chris shrugged. "Your choice." Then the man turned around to face the back wall, and told Bakura to pay extra careful attention. "The hard liquor is over on this side, and…"

The back wall was literally _covered _with bottles and cans of all sorts of alcohol. Bakura felt a little discomforted, being so close to something he absolutely despised, but he quickly pushed that thought out of the way. Wooden shelves were stacked on top of each other, seeming to strain with the weight of the multitude of bottles that rested on them. Yet that wasn't all – glasses mounded in the shape of a pyramid lay beneath the lower shelves, all clean and ready to go. Towels were placed at regular intervals between the glasses. The teen snuck a glance up and down the aisle behind the counter, and saw an ice machine near the entrance, and a few sinks and other contraptions on the other end.

"…got that?"

Bakura nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Was I supposed to get all of that on the first go?"

Christophe laughed again, shaking his head. "Would you be working here if you did? There's a charted guide behind plates underneath the counter. Just squat down and take a peek if you ever forget where something is when an order comes in, okay? But don't keep a customer waiting!"

"Of course not," Bakura agreed, feeling a little relieved.

"Okay! So, I'll be helping you behind the counter today, but starting tomorrow, you're on your own…"

Bakura nodded in understanding as he took a deep breath and strengthened his resolve. _This is…a bad idea… _The smell of alcohol, the red-faced drunkards, the dancers on the stage – it was all revolting to him, knowing that his father spent nearly half his life in a place like this. But he needed the money, he couldn't back down. _You can do this, Bakura…you can do this. _

Pushing down the sensation of quitting on the spot, Bakura tried to think of his paycheck in hopes that he could face the night without feeling too ashamed.

-

* * *

Ryou woke up, like he always did, at seven in the morning. He no longer needed Bakura's wristwatch to sound its alarm anymore, since repetition had gotten his body used to an early start.

The chill of morning that iced his back told him that he had slept alone. The hopes of Bakura coming into his room in the middle of the night had been but a dream. _He's still sleeping on that stupid couch…_Ryou thought forlornly. He heaved a sigh as he pulled himself out of bed, feeling depressed and forgotten.

Brushing his teeth at a snail's pace and going about his morning routine in the small side bathroom that extended from his room, Ryou tried to whittle away his melancholy. It was just so difficult, worrying himself sick over going behind Bakura's back. And on top of that, Bakura seemed to be ignoring everyone of late.

The way Bakura had come home and done nothing with him, even talk with him, had really hurt. He was still miserable from the lonely last night, but he somehow felt that this was all a punishment for his secret laptop.

So when Ryou emerged from his room, he didn't say his usually bright, morning greeting and instead said nothing to his brother or the Ishtars.

Marik glanced at Ryou over the newspaper he was scanning, and was about to say something until he saw Malik's glare. _So the kid's still feeling guilty about the laptop, huh? _Marik thought. That just made _him_ feel worse. Clearing his throat quite loudly, Marik fiercely turned the page of his daily, nearly tearing the paper. Bakura looked back over his shoulder as he diced vegetables for his little brother's bento, raising an eyebrow. Ryou blankly gazed from Marik to Bakura before slowly turning away.

When it was time to go, Ryou glumly headed out before Bakura could hand him his bento, expressing to everyone that he was troubled without meaning to.

Bakura gave Malik a questioning look, and only got a shrug. Exhaling softly as the teen started down the passageway, Bakura regretted not going back into the room he shared with Ryou after his night job. Now his brother was walking around with a big, black cloud over his head. Bakura paused to lean against the wall, suddenly feeling faint.

_Holy shit. _

This was all so _frustrating_. He knew that he couldn't force the child to possibly understand the constant stress he was under. Yet he wanted so bad to make Ryou realize he was giving his _life _in order to send the kid to school. It irritated Bakura, how Ryou couldn't be satisfied with all the effort he was giving. It was always 'play with me' or 'take me somewhere' with the kid. Why couldn't the child be satisfied with the time Bakura spent with him?

But how could he tell his little brother off? That would devastate Ryou completely. Bakura knew the boy loved him, just as much as he loved Ryou. But that wasn't the problem! Bakura couldn't explain to Ryou that he was too busy destroying himself and throwing away any pride he had left in order for them to survive! His hands burned, his back felt like it was about to snap, and now even his head felt like it was splitting in two. It was _killing _him, keeping all these things to himself! Sometimes, he wanted to yell at Ryou that he didn't have time to play. However, the fact that doing so would emotionally and mentally shatter Ryou made Bakura bite his tongue.

This was all like some big, intricate web, meant to drive people insane.

Though really…it was just that sometimes…Bakura wanted to live for himself. He knew that he was being stupid, that he could never really abandon Ryou, but... There was this longing to live without having to worry about a little brother. He wanted to be free to do what he wanted to do for once in his life.

_Is that so bad? _

-

* * *

  
AN: This chapter is really late, and I apologize again. I just didn't expect the first week of school to be so _hectic. _And…I have a feeling it's going to be hard to find a lot of time to sit down and type/edit. So, I'm sorry, but I think I may have to start updating weekly, on the weekends. I hope you liked this chapter, please review! It would really mean a lot…Anyways, expect the next chapter **next weekend**. Thanks for reading.


	18. Fog

AN: I'm so sorry this chapter is late! I kept nodding off when I was trying to write it, and had to put it off to the next day, and the next. Geez, teachers shouldn't assign so much _reading! _Two to four hours of reading a day, about history, isn't exactly fun… . I'll try to update another chapter by Sunday.

Thanks to…  
ONIX-21: Yeah, and school is _still _chaotic. - I have sooooo much reading! Yech, I don't like history class. Anyways, thanks for the review!

casaragi: School is all good except history. We have this fat textbook called Brinkley, and it's murderously boring! Hope school is better for you, and thanks for reviewing!

dragonlady222: I agree with you, though Ryou is struggling to grasp that understanding. Thanks so much for the review!

Superhumansaiyajin: Haha, our school classes are like, completely different. Physics is okay so far, we haven't had any quizzes or tests. History's the problem for me. We've got this HUGE textbook called Brinkley, and it is the dullest thing you can read. And, to make it worse, the teacher assigns heavy readings. . That's what made it so hard to type up this chapter. I was writing this almost after I fell asleep reading Brinkley. Hm, Bakura…it must be hard on him, since he's trying to do what adults do. As for Ryou…you'll find out. - Read on, and thanks a lot for the review!

Ivory Willow: I know, I hate homework. Lol, it inhibits me from writing. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Yeah, poor Bakura…thanks for the compliment and the review!

Maroon Mangaroo: Lol, no, Bakura does not have cancer. Thanks for the feedback, I'll try to go back and fix some of those things. I'm glad you like the story so far, and kept reading, even after I only asked you to read the first chapter. - Keep reading though, m'kay? It gets better (methinks). Thanks for all the reviewing!

Tails7651: Hm, close! He doesn't want to work in the bar at all, really, but works where he doesn't have to interact with customers because he hated dealing with drunk people (like his father). - Thanks for the review!

SV Green: You have no idea what a great compliment that is. Really, thank you so much. I only hope that my writing continues to meet your expectations. - Thanks a lot for reviewing!

Spirited-Lilly: Haha, I have a sister like that! She'll annoy me until kingdom come, though. Anyways, thanks for the review!

Chapter Seventeen: Fog

Sunlight draped a small figure in jeans and a brown tee leaning against the walls of some fairly new condos. Gently scuffing his shoe against the ground as people hurried past him, the child kept his head down. Heaving a sigh, a thought crossed the boy's mind. _We're going to be late…_ But Ryou didn't care. He could miss school entirely today and not care.

As he stared at the concrete sidewalk through blurred chocolate eyes, Ryou felt as if his heart was being ruthlessly pulled from both sides. He hated having this awkward gap between Bakura and him. Why'd this have to happen? Was it punishment for running away?

Whenever Ryou fought with Bakura, Ryou realized afterwards that he was usually at fault. This time, though, it was different. The urge to growl and stomp arose and fluttered around his chest as anger filtered through his mind. He understood that Bakura had to work. That was why he did anything he could to relieve any stress his older brother might have at home. Ryou washed the dishes, kept their room neat and tidy, vacuumed the house whenever it was Bakura's turn, and even reheated dinner for him. Did Bakura notice? _Never. _

It was like Bakura was too wrapped up about his job to even care about him! That was even more bothersome! Ryou could accept that his brother was tired and needed sleep whenever he came home, but that didn't give the teen the right to ignore him. The child knew that his brother was working hard to pay for his education, but…it was as if all Bakura cared about was sending him to Shin Elementary. Ryou wanted his brother to focus less on school, and more on him.

There was a hiss as the front doors of the condos slid open for Bakura. Ryou blinked away the tears while the snow-haired teen started toward him. Afraid that he would end up glaring at his brother if he looked at him, Ryou quickly took off, marching down the street on his own.

In an act of defiance, Ryou stuffed his hands into his jean pockets. Normally, he held Bakura's hand on the way to school, but today, he was too annoyed and miserable to tolerate even his brother's touch.

Ryou hurriedly crossed one street after another, not pausing at all to wait for his brother. His fast pace allowed his temper to slowly sidle down as exhaustion and despondency gained control of his overheating body. By the time he reached the gates of Shin Elementary, his cheeks were flushed and sweat covered his brow.

At first, Ryou patiently waited for his brother as he tried to catch his breath. Many of his fellow peers walked by, calling out in greeting as they headed toward class. Ryou merely smiled as he watched them go, feeling his impatience increase with each passing student. Where was his brother?

The five-minute bell rang, and Ryou knew he could wait no longer. Muttering incoherent words under his breath, the boy dragged himself up the steps of his school and only glanced back once.

Still no Bakura. Ryou sighed as he struggled to open the heavy glass-paned doors._ No lunch, no laptop, no school supplies._ Normally, he would have felt a little irritated if something like this happened. Not today. Ryou was just sick of working up a temper and having no one take heed.

Struggling against the need to cry and call for someone who would care about him, Ryou slowly shuffled toward his classroom.

-

* * *

The phone rang again, echoing throughout the house in an eerie sort of way. _C'mon, it's obvious no one's home. Leave a friggin' message already…_

A slick-looking man exhaled some smoke before raising his cigarette back into his mouth. _Stupid telemarketers. It'd better not be one of them. _His arms, spread across the top of a battered headboard of a king-size bed, rippled with muscle as he stretched quite briefly.

"Honey, should I answer it?" a sleepy voice asked.

Utaka Teishin glanced down at the woman sleeping next to him, trying to recall her name. After a moment, he gave up. It wasn't like he ever brought them to his house a second time anyway. "No, let it go to the answering machine."

"Whatever you say, Utaka."

The man scoffed as he exhaled yet again, waiting for the phone to stop. Soon, there was a click and a beep, before an electronic voice asked the caller to leave a message.

A hesitant voice called out, and that was all it took to make the ends of Utaka's mouth curve into a smile. The call he had been waiting for.

"H-Hello Mr. Teishin, I g-guess you're not h-home, er, right now. It's Officer Keisuke Shiguro, by the way. I was, um, just calling to tell you that, uh, cameras picked up two boys with, er, white hair at the T-Tokaido Shinkansen in downtown, T-Tokyo. It, ah, seems your sons have, uh, left for Kyoto. Please c-call me back soon, so that, um, we can discuss what to do next. T-thanks. My number is…"

"Honey, where are you going?"

"I have to make a phone call…"

-

* * *

Ryou stared at the paper, feeling his stomach sink even lower. _You have _got_ to be joking…_ Ryou groaned as his eyes read over the title again and again: _Mandatory Parent Conferences Night_. What kind of school made conferences _mandatory? _

From the next desk over, Takui sighed. "Man, that's depressing. My mom and dad aren't going to be happy with my grade in here. What about you? Your parents get worked up about stuff like that?"

Ryou said nothing as he buried his head in his arms. His insides were being eaten by distress. The feeling of depression overwhelmed his mind for a moment, making him want to throw up. Not that he had anything to barf – he hadn't had lunch today. What was he going to do? He couldn't tell Mrs. Tamoki that his 'parents' couldn't come! She would just reschedule a private one! How could he tell Bakura? Bakura couldn't come even if he wanted to! _Not that he would want to_, Ryou thought bitterly.

"Understood? Two days from now – that's a Friday, children! – your parents will come to this classroom at five thirty." Mrs. Tamokie clapped her hands, smiling as she looked around at her students. "I look forward to seeing you with your parents. Now, I'll excuse you early…"

Ryou only dragged himself out of his desk because Takui kept calling for him. When he reached behind his seat for his backpack that wasn't there, the child gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as he brought his hands up to his face. This…feeling…it made his body ache and scream. Something dark and ominous enveloped his head, making everything seem so bleak and hopeless. He was sick of trying. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep…sleep forever. He didn't want to wake up ever again to that feeling of neglect, that cold absence of someone he loved.

"-you…Ryou!"

Ryou blinked, slowly adjusting to the blazing sun outside. Takui, who had obviously led him out of the school, was frowning at him from a few paces away.

"Are you alright, Ryou?" he asked cautiously, peeking at his friend's pale countenance. "You look worse than this morning. Are you sick?"

Before Ryou could answer, someone else called for the white-haired child. "Hey, kiddo, how was school?" As Malik made his way over to the two boys, Ryou kept his eyes glued to the ground.

"I think he's sick…" Takui loudly whispered.

Malik quickly glanced over Ryou, immediately knowing something was still wrong between the child and his brother. "Thanks, Takui. I'll take care of it. I'll see you tomorrow!" The Egyptian insistently waved off the frowning friend before he gently steered the quiet Ryou away from the front of the school and over to some shade. Then he squatted down next to the child.

For a moment, they stayed like that, Ryou dully staring at the ground with Malik patiently waiting. Ryou knew that Malik wanted to know, wanted to help. But the child didn't want to talk about it, and he hoped that Malik would understand. Ryou heaved a sigh, and would've cried if he hadn't felt so empty inside.

"Malik…just take me home."

-

* * *

  
AN: I hope you liked it…I'm sorry it was late. I'll try to update by Sunday night, and I promise, it gets better. Thanks for reading, and please review!


	19. Money Makes the World Go 'Round Part 3

AN: This. Chapter. Took. FOREVER. I mean, why Writer's Block now, of all times? . It's painful! I can't even write a paragraph without erasing it and starting over at least three times! TT I hope, for any of you that are writers, that you never develop writer's block…It's like a never-ending curse. Anyways, this chapter turned out…well, you'll see… Um, the chapter title doesn't fit as well as I would have liked, but that's because of stupid writer's block…growls

Thanks to…

Wallsmex: Ah, you shall find out in this chapter. I'm really glad you like the story. I wish I could update daily like I use to, but school (and now, writer's block) is making that quite difficult. Thanks so much for reviewing, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

dragonlady222: Ryou is suffering too much… . I hope their 'father' doesn't find them soon, either! Better yet, he _never _finds them! Thanks for reviewing! Please look forward to this chapter!

Pharaoh Felicia: Really? Thanks! I hope you continue reading it, then! Thanks for the review.

Egypt Mesi: Lol, I know. My conferences are always 'come if you can'. But you know, my cousin goes to a private school, and his conferences are mandatory. Scary how schools can be, huh? Thanks for reviewing!

ONIX-21: Thanks! This chapter took a lot to write, so I hope you enjoy it. (It's really hard to write properly when you have writer's block… . Thanks a bunch for reviewing!

casaragi: Lol, I would dance, too, if their father disappeared. But alas, he is as persistent as a cockroach. So school is boring for you, huh? Well, I can't say it's not boring…it's sure keeping me occupied ;;. Hm, well, hyperness is a good thing, yes? Thanks so much for the review!

Ivory Willow: TT I'm sorry! You even told me to update soon, and I'm like, two weeks behind! Stupid Writers' Block and homework! I'll try hard to update by next Sunday, okay? I promise! Thanks lots for the review!

The Vampire Prince: You shall see what happened to Bakura in this chapter…And conferences – it's like Peter's conferences, you know? Mandatory. Thanks for the review!

MadPie: Thanks for the support! I'm keeping up with the reading, but I seriously am having difficulties finding time to myself. And! To make matters worse, I have writers' block! I can't seem to write anything decent! This chapter took _forever _because of the editing and rewriting and revising and…;; You get the picture. Thanks for the review. Please continue reading this story!

You-Know-Who-Winnie-the-Pooh: Haha, really? Okay, I look forward to seeing which sentences you pick. But…I don't _normally _growl at people at school. Hm, I'll keep that advice in mind (I'll go back later to revise that, see what I can work out). Thanks for the review!

Chapter Eighteen: Money Makes the World Go 'Round (Part III)

It was driving him nuts.

The rhythmic ticking of the kitchen clock was usually inaudible to Malik's ears, but today, it was like the thundering of a hammer on his skull. The silence that had settled in the modest condo was so _not_ a comfortable one. As the Egyptian nervously glanced next to him on the black and white couch, he noticed Marik was slightly bothered as well. His brother's hands were clenched tightly around his book, which meant that he was having trouble concentrating. When Malik looked back behind the couch, he saw that Ryou hadn't moved an inch from his chair in the kitchen.

_This is crazy. _Malik softly sighed as he tugged at the collar of his tee. This quiet was really stifling. Usually, Ryou was in a bright and loquacious mood after school. Only now did Malik notice how different the atmosphere was when Ryou came home, how much he looked forward to picking the child up. _There's got to be something really wrong…_ _Ryou usually brushes his problems aside and pretends everything's alright when Marik and I are around…_

There was a creak from the couch as Malik got up. His twin gave him a questioning look, but Malik was in such a rush that he didn't notice. In a few strides, the younger Egyptian had covered the distance between Ryou and him, and was about to say something to the boy.

Malik was reaching for Ryou's shoulder when his brother coughed. Glancing back, he saw Marik throw him a frown. Nonetheless, Malik would've shook his head and tapped Ryou regardless of his twin, but the way Marik shook his head and scowled told him that his interference would just make things worse.

Malik blinked as he stared at the child's snow-colored hair. Why was it that he felt such a strong need to help Ryou? Why was it _always_ only Bakura? How come he couldn't help? Swallowing hard, Malik curled his outstretched hand into a fist and reluctantly turned away, his expression pained. He had to admit – he was jealous of Bakura. Even though he loved his twin, to have a brother that actually sought support from him was something that Malik knew he would never have.

The child seated at the dinner table clearly didn't respond to Malik's fading footsteps. As Marik watched Ryou from the corner of his eye, he wasn't sure if the boy even noticed that someone had been standing behind him.

Completely oblivious to his twin's plight, Marik studied the slumped child carefully. _There's like a big, black cloud over his head, _Marik thought. _I wish he would talk to us…tell us what's wrong. _He knew he shouldn't interfere in other people's business, since it might offend them, but lately, that was getting difficult around Ryou and Bakura.

Marik almost jumped when he heard a grinding sound of metal against metal at the front door. Muttering a few words under his breath, the teen slowly got up and saw Ryou stirring as well. Malik, who was turning back around, was saying something about dinner.

Bakura quietly stepped inside the condo and slammed the door shut. Ryou was mentally bracing himself for a conversation about conferences – until he saw the Blue Eyes White Dragon backpack in one of Bakura's hands. In the other, he held an Apple laptop.

Ryou blinked, suddenly feeling as if he had been shoved off the top of a building. There was a pause in which time seemed to be hushed to a stop._ That's…my laptop…_ Ryou swallowed hard. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

How could he have _forgotten_ that his laptop was in his backpack? _That's why Bakura never came by to drop it off today._ _He must've been really, really mad…_ Ryou's throat constricted at that thought. _I should have just told him about it when I got it…_

Bakura slowly made his way to the kitchen, and carefully placed the laptop on the table, keeping his gaze away from Ryou. "It's for school, isn't it?" Before he could say anything else, both Marik and Malik stepped forward and started talking at the same time.

Ryou couldn't hear them. He was deaf as they tried to defend him. _Why didn't I just tell him?_ he screamed at himself. As he tried not to cry, Ryou couldn't help but feel despicable inside. He regretted his silence on the matter so much that it hurt as if he was dying. All he could do was sit there and stare at the Apple computer. This was…too much.

"I can't," Bakura started, but his voice faltered. Marik and Malik exchanged glances as they fell silent. Ryou couldn't bring himself to look at his brother as Bakura coughed to clear his throat. Already the child could tell that Bakura was pissed.

"I can't believe you all…" Bakura paused, struggling to find the right words. "Were…all of you in on this?"

The twins couldn't say anything.

To Ryou, the fact that Bakura didn't sound mad made it worse. Something other than dread and shame trickled through his body, making his mouth feel dry – it was self-loathing. Ryou wasn't stupid. He knew his brother was having difficulties with taking care of him. Although Ryou didn't completely understand _why_ Bakura's work demanded so much time both in and out of the house, he could discern enough to know that it was really stressing his brother. Aside from taking care of Ryou financially, Bakura always made sure that the child had a lunch and proper clothes. He even terrorized Malik about being on time to pick Ryou up from school.

However, love was something that Ryou wasn't used to. Never before had anyone given him so much attention, so much care. The thought of losing such precious things had driven Ryou insane – he loved his brother so much he didn't want to let go. _But…now…I…I've done it…_Betrayal of trust was the dirtiest thing anyone could do to someone they loved. And he had done it.

Shaking uncontrollably now, Ryou clenched his jaw as he fought the urge to throw up. It was like something was lodged in his throat, making it difficult to swallow or breathe. As much as it pained him, Ryou refused to look up. He felt like he deserved anything his brother was going to dish out.

Bakura closed his eyes when his question was met by a very long silence. The answer was evident. _This…is… _What made this matter even more unbearable was the fact that _no one had told him. _Exhaling slowly to stem off his anger, Bakura suddenly felt lightheaded. Meekly, he raised a hand and ran it through his hair.

"He didn't ask us to buy the laptop for him," Marik suddenly muttered. Malik voiced his agreement.

Bakura shook his head. _This is…pathetic. _He scoffed. "You didn't even ask me about it," he steadily said.

The older twin evenly replied, "We can help, too, you know."

"The least you could have done is told me," Bakura snapped, his jaw tightening.

Marik was about to say something when a whimper escaped from Ryou. The child, numb both mentally and physically, stumbled out of his chair.

Malik immediately tried to reach for the boy, to pull him back up, but faltered as Ryou knelt in front of Bakura and started to cry.

"I-I'm sorry, Bakura…I didn't mean to," Ryou whispered as he sobbed, his head bowed. "It's just…I thought we didn't…have enough money, and…it seemed like…so much…"

"I don't want to hear it." Bakura pressed a hand against his forehead as he took a step back. _This is such a waste of time…of effort…_ If he heard any of them say another word, he was going to snap.

As Bakura continued to back up, he groped for the door. _How stupid…_ To think that he had actually believed… Bakura didn't even look at them when he stepped outside. Stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked toward to elevator, Bakura chuckled softly.

_What a fucking joke. _

-

* * *

  
AN: I…don't really approve of the cussing, but…it puts a big emphasis on how pissed Bakura is. I'm sorry this chapter took so long… TT I tried really hard for a whole week to write this, but I _could not _get over my stupid writer's block! Hopefully, I'll have better luck next chapter. Please expect the update next Sunday (not the first one of October, but the second).


	20. Falling Apart

AN: Well, it's certainly been a long time…;; I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. Today, I told myself that I will not get off the computer until this chapter is done. Because we have a four-day break for Thanksgiving, I was able to work on this. I know I promised to update more regularly, but…I don't think I'll be able to keep that promise. School is literally dominating my life right now. However, I promise to **definitely** **try to update weekly! (**I think I've got the hang of my schedule now…but we'll see). My goal this week is to finish all my homework early, and type Saturday/Sunday. Please continue to support me, and thank you for reading!

Thanks to…

casaragi: Haha, yeah, they both need hugs right now. Thanks so much for the review!

ONIX-21: Yes, drama achieved! (I really tried for that element the last chapter). I'm glad that Marik and Malik have gotten attached to them, too. Thanks bunches for the review!

dragonlady222: Thank you very much for the review! I also agree with you – Bakura needs a break. Overworking is killing him right now.

Ivory Willow: Lol, that's one way to put it. Thanks for the review and the kind words – definitely helping. - Hope you get/got a good grade on your project!

Tails7651: I hate spam, too! I'm glad you liked the chapter. Thanks a lot for the review!

The Vampire Prince: I know! Communication is like, zip! Hopefully, it'll get better though, right? Thanks tons for the review!

MadPie: Lol, I heard your plea, but couldn't act until now. And thank you (about the writer's block thing). That got me motivated again to fight the WB once more. Thanks a bundle for the review!

Chapter Nineteen: Falling Apart

Bakura didn't flinch as the bitter night wind hit him full in the face as he left the lounge. He was too numb to feel anything but the pressing urge to scream. If he stayed here any longer, he was going to lose his mind. Pulling his coat around his frame, the teen wandered off into the night.

It wasn't fair. He should've been the first to know that Ryou needed a laptop. He should've been the one to buy it for the child. He had worked daytime shifts as well as a night ones to try to make ends meet. Cutting down the time he spent with Ryou was also something he had done in hopes of keeping them afloat. Still, it wasn't good enough! This month's payment for the condo to Marik was already late, and he had barely been able to pay Ryou's ridiculous school fees. _And then there's the laptop. _Bakura grounded his teeth and continued to stride forward aimlessly. _It's just a laptop_, he tried to tell himself. But it seemed like so much more! It felt as if he had been…betrayed, cheated. He didn't want any help in supporting Ryou and himself – he wanted to prove to his damned father that he could make it in the world alone…he didn't want to kneel before that smirking face ever again.

Bakura suddenly halted on a street corner, glaring at the smoggy sky. The cold night air had chipped away at his anger enough for him to get a grip. Still, the frustration ran circles in his head. Why did they have to keep it a secret? Why didn't Ryou tell him he needed one for school? Why was he the last one to know? _Why the hell does it hurt? _

_Face it…there's no way you could've afforded a laptop for Ryou. _Reality was harsh. Not only did it make him feel pathetic, but the worst part was to know that all his efforts – no matter how much he tried – were not enough to raise Ryou properly… No, that was a lie. To know that his efforts weren't sufficient enough, to know that he still needed a parent, _that_ was unbearable.

Bakura blinked in surprise as tears threatened to spill over. Angrily, he pressed a palm against his eyes and swallowed hard, his shoulders shaking. _I can't stand this…_He was sick of trying at all anymore. What was the point? No matter how much he struggled, his efforts would disappoint everybody.

A beeping sound pricked the teen's ears, yanking him out of his thoughts. His wristwatch, heralding the time._ Tameron's bar…my shift…_

It was like the gods were laughing at him, mocking him. They were toying with him, making sure that the path he had chosen would have many obstructions as well as no end. His pride, and even his innocence, wasn't enough for them – they wanted to take everything.

The teen stood there on the corner of an unknown street, just staring out in space. Was this the life he wanted? Was this all worth it? He was basically throwing his life at the feet of some kid his mother had brought home one day.

Bakura's jaw tightened.

_I…I need more time to think…_

-

* * *

"Calm down, Ryou!"

Ryou screamed, sobbing as he fought the arms holding him down. "He's not going to come back!" Ryou cried, throwing his fists into Malik's back as the teen kept him from the door. "Let me go!" he screamed. "Bakura! Bakura, don't leave!" Slamming his small hands into Malik's back again, Ryou cried for his older brother's return.

Malik felt torn as Ryou continued to weep and shout, struggling all the while. However, Marik's hollered words as he left to keep tabs on Bakura were still impressed in his mind – _"Bakura needs time to himself. He's just going to hurt Ryou if he doesn't cool off first."_

"He'll be back," Malik said in vain, trying to soothe the child. "Please, Ryou! Calm down!"

"No," the child screamed. "No, he's not coming back! He's going to disappear, just like everyone else!"

Malik wanted to shout back that this whole thing was ridiculous! It was over a flipping _laptop_! Who the hell would leave their family for a laptop?

_But it's not just the laptop. _Malik froze, realization dawning on him. _The kid works all day, comes home to rest and work again tomorrow. On top of that, he has to deal with Ryou…_He didn't doubt Bakura's love for Ryou – it was just the fact that dealing with a frustrated child when you're frustrated yourself… _Frustrated because no matter how hard he tries, it isn't enough. _For Bakura, the laptop had been the last straw.

Ryou bolted for the door as soon as Malik's arms slackened. Cursing as he slowly stumbled out of his reverie, Malik chased after the child.

Jamming the elevator button again and again didn't hasten the coming of the metal box. Ryou didn't waste any time as he threw open the door on his left for the fire stairs. Struggling to stop the tears and clear his vision, Ryou started running down the flights as fast as he could.

"_**Why did you bring home a mutt like him?" **_

_A mutt…is that what you call someone like me? Someone nobody wants to take care of? Someone people throw away and never look back at? Are you throwing me away, too?_

Ryou leapt down the last few steps and rammed into the last door, opening it to show the lounge. He frantically looked around before he sprinted for the front entrance, easily evading the milling people in his way.

_Don't leave me behind, please! Stay with me, or…or I…I'll…_

The dark, cool night swallowed the last of his strength as the child desperately looked up and down the street for his brother.

_I'll break. _

-

* * *

Officer Keisuke Shiguro chugged the last of his coffee, down to the last drop, before he tossed it into a trash can on the street. He let out a satisfying sigh as he hauled himself toward his destination, fixing his cap and hair. "Its days like these when I feel like an actual cop," the man muttered, glowing inside from all the side glances he was getting.

His slow lumbering came to a halt in front of a condo. Then Keisuke mentally double-checked the location and the name of the building before he made a move.

He didn't get very far. He was about to walk through the doors when a small child ran out and almost knocked right into him. "Whoa!" he cried, startled as he backpedaled a little. He was about to warn the child to not run so recklessly when the boy's hair color caught his eye.

_My youngest, Ryou, is easily influenced by his older brother, Bakura…They both have white hair…Slightly tan…_

Keisuke was about to reach for the boy when the child fell to his knees, and broke down crying.

Something twitched in Keisuke's heart, and he almost patted the boy on the back, in hopes of cheering him up. However, his mind told him that he had a duty to perform, and he had to do it now, before a crowd formed. Already, a few bystanders were closing in on the kid.

"Police officer, coming through," Keisuke said, somewhat quietly. He shoved his way to the boy and grabbed the child's shoulder. "Son, you have to come with me."

As Keisuke pulled the child to his feet, he radioed his partner to come pick them up. He felt like he had to keep a firm grip on the child, the way Mr. Teishin had described him. However, the boy was just staring blankly at the ground, crying. There was no struggle whatsoever.

When the police car pulled up beside them, and Keisuke's partner gently led the boy into the vehicle, Keisuke turned to face the condo once more.

His enthusiasm had all but disappeared. _All I need to do is find the brother, and it'll be over. _

Mouth set in a grim line, Officer Shiguro marched right past a pale Egyptian boy as he entered the lounge.

-

* * *

  
AN: Well…what do you think? Please review! I'll try to update by next **Saturday** or **Sunday** (depends on homework, but I'm going to try!).


	21. Savior

AN: All right! I've conquered the neverending piles of homework for the holiday (temporarily). I'm back with a new chapter! Enjoy, and please review!

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Yeah, poor Ryou indeed. Bakura is…having trouble with having to face all this, ne? Let's hope to can overcome it all and save Ryou! Yay! Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: I know! Poor Ryou, he's caught! Bakura must go save him! Thanks for the review!

Dragonlover149: Haha, really? Thank you! I'm glad you like it, and hope that you continue to read it. Thanks for the review!

bookworm3213: Erk, sorry about that. Lol, it was sounding like quite an impressive list, too (though I believe there's a ton of room for improvement ;;). Thanks for the compliments and the review!

The Vampire Prince: Ah, thanks. Yeah, I tried to make it so that they both seemed to have reasonable arguments. Hope they resolve them quickly, eh? Thanks for the review!

bakura666: Soon, you'll know soon! (Though…er…well, read the chapter -;;). Thanks for the review!

Chapter Twenty: Savior

A hand clasped Bakura's shoulder, making him jump. He quickly brushed off the hand and glanced back, relieved and annoyed at seeing Marik standing behind him. "So you followed me."

Marik chose not to say anything as he stared at Bakura. Since when did he look so old? And his eyes – they held the look of one condemned. There was an awkward silence where traffic passed the two over. Bakura felt tired and uneasy as Marik continued to study him.

Finally, Bakura sniffed, feeling a cold coming on. "Look," he muttered, coughing to clear his throat. "I've got to go-"

"You aren't going today," Marik curtly said.

Bakura was taken back. "What?"

The same hand that the teen had brushed off earlier grabbed the neckline of his coat. Marik looked dead serious as he murmured, "You're not going back to that bar ever again. Do you hear me?"

Growling, Bakura tried to pry Marik's hands off of him. He was sick of all this. "What gives you the right to say that?"

Marik scoffed. "I thought if you were allowed to get mad at Ryou's secret, I ought to be able to tell you I'm furious about your night job." The guilt that flickered in Bakura's eyes told Marik he got his point across.

Bakura looked away as he fiddled with his mused coat collar. His mind was spinning. He wanted it to stop. He wanted everything to stop. "I…I need the money…" he mumbled.

The quivering tone of voice that Bakura used shoved Marik into further silence. There were so many things that Marik wanted to tell the teen standing before him. _You aren't alone in the world, you have Malik and I_… But saying such things would only send Bakura on the defensive. He didn't want a larger chasm between the two because of independency.

"Marik…" Bakura took a deep breath, pressing a hand against his head. "I can't do this anymore." There was a rush of emotions that overtook the teen's mind, but he pushed himself further from it. _Stay away from me! _It hurt too much, feeling… There was a choking sound as Bakura tried to keep his voice from breaking. "I don't think…I can care for Ryou anymore…"

Marik closed his eyes. _I did not just hear that. _Something in his heart pained him as Bakura muffled his cries. Marik felt guilt wash over him as he gently placed a hand on Bakura's shoulder again, before slowly pulling him close. Bakura didn't protest as he continued to cry. _He's broken… _The anguish that crushed Marik made him clench his jaw in shame. He had played a part in breaking the boy before him. He felt he was partially to blame for shattering the will of this rebellious spirit that had strived to rise against all odds to love and protect a loved one. _I should've watched more carefully, I should've paid more attention! _

Never before had Marik felt this strong of sentiment for anyone, save for his twin brother. But even then his conscience had never hit him as hard as it did now. Marik swallowed hard as he attempted to steel himself, trying to understand the flow of emotions that coursed through his mind. It was unlike him to get poignant, and he wasn't going to start now.

Marik gently peeled the lifeless Bakura off and started to guide him home, feeling his mind flit with unrest. Marik, who had always been disdainful of the emotionally strong, was so confused.

* * *

Malik gave a cry of relief when he saw Marik and Bakura hobbling down the street. He ran to greet them, on the verge of tears.

Marik frowned when he saw his brother, who was shaking uncontrollably and restless. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

"T-they took Ryou," Malik stuttered, trying to calm his nerves. "They t-took him away, t-the police…" Marik's frown deepened, his stoic mask falling. Malik was surprised for a moment when he saw his brother's look of anguish and confusion, but quickly turned to Bakura.

He had expected immediate surprise and anger, even an outburst of cussing from the teen. However, Bakura continued to keep his silence, looking tired and old beyond his years.

Malik gave his brother an inquiring, worried look. His brother said nothing as he tried to gather his thoughts. "Are they searching the condo?"

"I don't know," Malik murmured, fidgeting with his hands as he continued to glance at Bakura. Something was wrong, he could feel it. "They did earlier, but I don't know if they're still there." Malik turned to Bakura, and said in a low voice, "Bakura, Ryou's gone. He's been taken." Bakura blinked, and slowly looked at Malik. He couldn't take it. Malik grabbed Bakura and started to shake him. "Bakura! Bakura, snap out of it!" he shouted, feeling like Ryou's life depended on it. Why didn't he understand? Ryou was _gone_!

Marik quietly pried his brother away from Bakura, a hard look on his face. "It's no use, Malik. I…I think-"

"What is wrong with the two of you?" Malik suddenly screamed. The Egyptian could see people on the street stopping and staring at him, but he could care less. He grabbed the front of his brother's shirt, and fisted the front of Bakura's coat as well. "He's gone! He's taken! Don't you care?"

Marik angrily released himself, stiff and still unsure. "If he's going back to his father, then it should be fine. At least it's a parent." His voice was shaky, not confident at all.

"No!" Malik didn't let go of Bakura. Something shifted in the teen's eyes, but he didn't really respond. It was like Bakura had cut himself off from the rest of the world, and he was just floating. The Egyptian didn't think that Ryou missing had fully registered for Bakura. Desperate, Malik tried to get Bakura to listen. "Are you just going to abandon him, too?"

There was a flicker of something ugly and sad in the teen. Suddenly, Bakura's face contorted with rage. "You don't understand!" he snarled, snapping Malik's hands off of him. The Egyptian jerked back, startled at the outburst. "You don't understand how hard it is! How unfair it is!" Bakura felt his hands ball up. All he could think about was how iniquitous it all was. Why did anyone expect him to care of a kid at all? He wanted to hit someone, he wanted someone to hit him. He just wanted this gnawing, tortuous feeling in his gut to leave him alone! "I'm sick of it all! I'm sick of him! Why do I have to take care of him? Why do I have to watch over him? Why do I have to give my life to some kid I don't even love?" Even as the words left his mouth, Bakura felt his pain heighten. _Don't I love him? _

There's was an eerie silence as even the gathered crowd of people were hushed. Marik's mouth was slightly open, his face struggling to stay blank. Malik looked pained, shaking his head.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" Malik whispered, daring to take a step toward Bakura.

"Why do you even care?" Bakura spat, and almost regretted his words when Malik looked like he had been slapped. The teen shifted his gaze away. More quietly, he muttered, "Why should I care if he's gone? I don't want to be responsible for him anymore."

Malik quietly gave Bakura a look of disappointment, blinking back tears. Then he softly said, "Because he is your brother. Because I thought you loved him. Because I know he loves you."

Those honest words slowly crumbled whatever rage and contempt Bakura harbored. Strong self-contempt swept over the teen. How could he have forgotten? It had been Ryou who saved him from the dark. Just last year he had planned on taking his own life, after years of his father defiling him. When Ryou appeared at his door, the child had restored the will to live, a will that Bakura had thought he lost long ago. Bakura felt his breath and strength slip away as he fell to his knees, feeling dreadful and cruel. The child who loved him so endearingly, the child he had almost betrayed… Just because he didn't want to face the world alone, just because he was too scared, he had thought about – no, he almost _did_ leave his brother behind. _Oh, God, Ryou…_What kind of monster was he, that he could forget his Ryou so easily?

Malik tersely watched as the teen clenched his fists, his head bent as he continued to kneel. Then, with a shout of anger, Bakura slammed a fist into the ground before he launched himself to his feet. Malik moved forward to help him when his brother brushed past him to do so. Malik felt his chest ease up. _Marik's alright, too…_

Bakura turned around, the lavender mist in his bloodshot eyes miserable but determined. He silently thanked Malik, feeling absolutely vindictive about almost leaving his little brother to a fate much crueler than death. But now was not the time to repent.

"Malik, take me to Ryou."

-

* * *

  
AN: Much darker than I intended, but I hope you liked it…I think this is the most emotionally charged chapter I've ever written (or maybe that's just me, lol). Please review! I want to update as soon as possible (within the week) but I'm not very good with deadlines at the moment. Eheh :; … I promise to update when I have time.


	22. Silence

AN: Okay…so, it's been a while since I've updated (my apologies! Just had finals, and still, I've got homework…TT). Thank you for waiting (if you have been) and please enjoy.

Thanks to…

ONIX-21: Lol, I'm glad you're so excited! I'm sorry it took so long to update. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reviewing!

Ivory Willow: I agree with you – a slow and painful death…VERY painful. Anyways, thanks for the review!

bakura666: Ah, I like that idea…a good sad. - The father…oh, the father… I don't like the father, lol. Thank you for the review!

bookworm3213: Erk! This is the soonest I could update! Lol, too much homework, it's overkill (just had finals last week…X.x). Thanks for reviewing, and I hope to update soon! (I used to update weekly, but man, Junior year of high school is like homework overload).

dragonlady222: (nods) I agree with you! Bakura must save Ryou! Hurry Bakura, Malik, and Marik! (Someone told me that Marik and Malik are pronounced the same…weird, I never knew!) Thanks for the review!

My Chemical Music Box: Ah, I'm glad you like it! Lol, I'm sorry, I'm having issues with balancing school, extracurricular activities, and music with writing fanfiction. Usually, I update weekly, but for the last five to six months…(winces). I'm trying though! Thanks for the review!

YumiFukushima: Really? Thanks so much (for the compliments and the reviews). I hope you enjoy the next chapter, though it's more about Ryou's past than anything…

MadPie: Lol, rest assured – I won't stop writing a fanfic entirely. I hate it when writers do that, though it is understandable. Anyways, thanks for the review, and here is the long-awaited chapter!

The Vampire Prince: For telling you that you reviewed? Lol, that's a pretty bad typo, couz! Anyways, I'm glad you liked the emotional stuff – worked a little more on that. Thanks for the review, and I'll call you to tell you about this update, m'kay? -

Chapter Twenty One: Silence

It was too loud.

Ryou felt like his ears were bleeding from the deafening sound of silence. However, he welcomed the pain, to distract himself from his thoughts. Through the car window, he could see people and buildings whiz by in a blur. He didn't know where he was going, or why, and he didn't care.

_I… _Ryou struggled to swallow, wanting to cry. No tears came, though, as his vision started to swim again.

"_Welcome to our home, Ryou-chan." The dark-haired woman smiled as the man nodded, wrapping an arm around his wife. Ryou couldn't see their eyes – shadows were cast over them. "We'll be your mommy and daddy from now on." The woman kept smiling steadily, waiting. Ryou blinked. He didn't know what he was supposed to say. _

_**I…I don't understand…**_

_Ryou heard the words as he was walking past the study. "It's been a month, John." It was the lady. "Have patience," Ryou heard her husband murmur. "He'll come around." The lady would have none of it. She hissed, "He never smiles at me! It's driving me nuts! He's always quiet and polite, but he doesn't seem like a normal child…John, let's take him back." There was a pause. "You know we can't do that." The lady huffed, exhaling slowly. "John, I want a happy child, a child I can love…I don't want a boy like him." _

_**What did I do wrong? **_

"_Your name…it's Ryou, isn't it? Nice to meet you, Ryou. I'm your new mother." Ryou timidly looked up at the woman, scared of being burnt by fire again. She was giggling, a hat shading her eyes. A small girl peaked out from behind the woman, obviously shy. "Nana, go say hi to your niisan, Ryou-kun." _

_**Why me? **_

_Nana giggled as she ran up the porch, bursting brightly into the house. "Mama, mama!" she called, running in with a manila envelope clutched in her hands. "Look at what I got!" Ryou could vaguely hear words as he slowly entered the house, holding his own report card in his hand. When the woman came into view, she expectantly reached for his folder, and quietly tore it open. All the while, Nana chattered happily away about her marks. "Ryou-kun," the woman suddenly said, breaking Nana off completely. "This is…wonderful!" Ryou tried to back away, but the woman threw her arms around him in time. Ryou stood stock still, quite uncomfortable, but couldn't help but feel a little proud. Then, he saw Nana standing a few feet behind. Her expression was dark. _

_**Someone please…tell me what I'm not doing…**_

_Ryou shuddered as the cold ocean water hit his chest, soaking him to the bone and making him shiver. "Nana, come back…" he said, his teeth clattering. "We aren't allowed to be in the water." Nana looked back, shooting him a dirty look. "Goody two-shoes," he heard her say. "You know what, Ryou-kun?" Ryou blinked, hugging himself as the icy breeze bit his skin. "What?" he asked. Nana glared at him, edging sluggishly closer as she fought against the waist-high water. "You stole my mum from me," the girl said, now standing in front of him. "I hate you, Ryou-kun! I hate you!" Ryou froze as the words hit him. Nana, in her anger, used her hands to force his head under a wave. He tried to scream, but saltwater just exploded into his throat. He was going to die. _

_**I tried to be good…I really did. **_

"_I heard he tried to drown himself." Ryou ignored the voice as he was led into the foster home. "He nearly succeeded, too." The man led him upstairs, to a room filled with older boys. Shy, Ryou kept his eyes on the ground and quickly made his way to his bed. The boy with the voice was standing in the doorway, smirking. "What a troublemaker. He won't last long." _

_**But…I guess…it's not enough. **_

"_Look at me when I talk to you, freak!" Pain flared in Ryou's gut as someone punched him. He doubled over, suppressing a gasp as he collapsed onto the dirt. A hand yanked his hair up. "I told you to get down!" Tears streaked down Ryou's cheeks as he fought to breathe. "Please don't," he said, his voice trembling. There was snickering as the child was shoved and kicked to the ground. "What kind of kid has white hair? Freaks like you are nothing but trash." Ryou tried to curl into a ball as he slammed his eyes shut and closed his mouth. The blows he expected never came, and he understood why – a few seconds later, the foster parents came running. _

_**It hurts…did you know that? **_

_Someone grabbed his wrist as they led him to the car. "If you could just behave, you'd find yourself living with a nice family," the man said. Swallowing hard, Ryou quietly slid into the back seat. He heard those words every time they came back to get him. And every time, it was like a knife in the stomach. Ryou didn't look back as the man drove him away. He said nothing as he blankly stared at his hands on his lap. It was back to the Center, back to loneliness, back to all those smiling people who told him he was loved. Liars, all of them. _

_**Every time they leave me behind…I feel like I'm choking to death. **_

_The woman in the flower dress smiled at him, her eyes dreamy. "Oh, wait till I show you to Bakura-kun!" _

Ryou closed his eyes.

"_Why'd you bring home a mutt like him?"_

…the silence. It was too loud.

-

* * *

Officer Keisuke mutely held the door open for the child, unsettled by the boy's blank stare and uncanny obedience. He could've sworn that children were supposed to talk, and they were supposed to be annoying. Already the officer began to feel hesitant. As he walked into the familiar coffee-smelling police station, his uncertainty swelled. Utaka Teishin had specifically said his children were a rebellious sort. This quiet child did not seem defiant in any way, shape, or form.

He studied the boy from the corner of his eye as the kid was seated in a chair next to his desk. Keisuke quickly plotted himself into his office chair across from the child and tried to clean away some of the mess that inhabited his workspace. As the man shook his computer mouse to bring his hunk of technology back to life, he offered the boy a lollipop from his secret stash. There was no response. Keisuke cleared his throat and timidly ran a hand through his hair, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

A few seconds passed by before Keisuke's partner walked in, having parked the police car. The younger officer quizzically looked at his senior before asking, "Sir, would you like me to call his father?"

The words shook Keisuke out of his confusion. He coughed, trying to regain his composure. "Oh, no, that's okay. I-I'll make the call, J-Jinya."

Swiveling around to the other side of his desk, Officer Shiguro quickly grabbed the phone with one hand. When he realized he didn't have Mr. Teishin's number in front of him, Keisuke turned to the child and asked if he remembered his home phone. The child didn't look up. The officer grunted as he slowly started to search through the multiple post-its on his computer screen, clearly disturbed. However, as soon as he found the number, the man quickly dialed and nervously waited for the father to pick up.

"Hello?"

"M-Mr. Teishin?" Keisuke tentatively asked.

"Yes, this is he."

Keisuke cleared his throat, trying to calm his nerves. "This is O-Officer Keisuke Shiguro, from the Tokyo police branch, calling from Kyoto…I came here in search of your sons?"

"You're in Kyoto?" Mr. Teishin sounded surprised.

"Y-yes, I felt it was b-best if I pursued the case p-personally." Keisuke struggled to clear his throat again as he continued. "I f-found one of your s-sons-"

Mr. Teishin eagerly interjected. "Bakura?"

"N-no, I believe it is the younger one." There was a silence on the other end as Keisuke tried to take a deep breath. Why was he so nervous? "I-I was calling to ask if you'd l-like to pick up the child t-today. T-there's a train t-that leaves from Tokyo to Kyoto in h-half an hour."

"Only Ryou?"

"W-we have not been able to locate y-your eldest son yet, s-sir," the policeman stuttered. "However, w-we have a good i-idea concerning his w-whereabouts."

There was a long pause on the other end. Then, slowly, Mr. Teishin said, "Yes, I will be there in half in hour, then…to pick up Ryou." There was another pause. "Officer, may I ask a favor?" Keisuke was about to consent, when the man just went on. "After I leave with Ryou, because I can't afford to stay in Kyoto – I can't risk losing my job, officer – can you leave a message for my eldest son? Tell him that Ryou is with me? That I have Ryou?"

Keisuke said he would leave a message, but the words had barely left his mouth when the man abruptly thanked him and said goodbye. The officer barely managed to mutter a goodbye before Mr. Teishin hung up.

Shiguro gave the phone a queer look as he slowly put it down. Mr. Teishin had always been so polite and well-mannered, as well as very concerned about his children. It struck him as odd that the man didn't sound relieved to find his children were all right. Well, at least one of his children. Keisuke glanced again the silent boy across from him.

At any rate, his children may not be all right, but certainly safe.

-

* * *

Utaka Teishin was in an irritable mood.

That stupid, pudgy police officer – what was his name again? – was running late. He had promised to be here, at the train station, at ten o'clock sharp with Ryou in tow. Utaka didn't see the man anywhere, and it was five past ten.

"I don't have time for this,"Teishin growled to no one in particular, his breath coming out as a soft mist in the cold night air. As he glanced at his steel wristwatch once more, the man tried to calm his frayed nerves down. Picking up Ryou was worth the time, Teishin told himself. If he had Ryou, then Bakura would follow. And he couldn't wait to get his hands on Bakura.

Light was fading fast now, and so was the last of Mr. Teishin's patience. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a police car rolled into the Kyoto Tokaido Shinkansen Station.

Utaka noted that the officer had lost some weight since their last encounter, probably due to stress. He quickly dismissed the thought and plastered a relieved smile on his face.

"Officer!" Mr. Teishin called, feigning distress. "Oh, Ryou! You've no idea how worried I've been." He knelt in front of the child and placed a hand on his shoulder, grudgingly pulling the boy into a hug. "You've grown so much, boy."

The police officer noticed a flicker of recognition in the child's eyes, the first sign of life he had witnessed in a while. "I'm glad we could help, sir," the officer proudly said.

Mr. Teishin rose to thank the man again, fervently shaking his hand. At the same time however, he never released Ryou's shoulder.

After a few minutes of worthless blabbering to flatter the cop, Mr. Teishin apologized and said that they had to catch their train. Eagerly, the policeman saw them off as Utaka immediately pulled Ryou toward the station. Teishin glanced at his watch – quarter past eleven. What a waste of time.

* * *

AN: Hope Ryou's flashbacks weren't too confusing. I felt like I had to put something about his past in, and…I guess this is the result. Don't worry though – the storyline will pick up in the next chapter. Please review!


	23. A Leap of Faith

AN: Okay, geez – lol

AN: Okay, geez – lol. I just realized what a HUGE jump I made in the last chapter near the end. It didn't make any sense (well, it did, but it was… just bad, lol). I went back and fixed it, so _**please re-read the last chapter**_…

Thanks to…

The Vampire Prince: Erk, I realized that the part with the cop was a bit quick, too, so I went back and re-edited it. ;; Oops… Anyways, I hope you can give me some advice on this chapter, too. Thanks for reviewing!

dragonlady222: Me, too! But you'll see what happens, ne? Thanks so much for the review!

ONIX-21: Haha, I'm glad you liked the flashbacks and such so much. I hope you continue to enjoy this story, and thanks for reviewing!

bakura666: Hehe, can you guess what's going to happen? I'm really, really glad you like the story thus far. - Thanks for reviewing!

bookworm3213: I like the first part, too! Guess I was worried about it for nothing though, huh? Thanks for the review!

My Chemical Music Box: I tried to present his past in a unique way…At least, as unique as I could think of. Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter Twenty Two: A Leap of Faith

Keisuke yawned as a clock buried somewhere on his desk sang out eleven o'clock. Today had been a trying day, and he couldn't wait to go home and get this case off his mind. It was too odd – the police had found Ryou all alone in the condo complex where witnesses claimed both brothers lived. Does that mean Bakura ran off to escape from the cops? What did he have to hide? And why had Ryou been so apathetic and so quiet when he was going back to his parents? Then there was Teishin…something about that man didn't add up. Keisuke closed his eyes and harrumphed. So many pieces to a puzzle he couldn't solve. He never really liked puzzles, and he certainly wasn't starting now. _No complaining now, Keisuke. It's already half finished_, he told himself. There was only one more kid to find.

As Officer Shiguro stretched his arms and he pushed himself to his feet, he let out a groan. A nice hot bath would be so nice, and would help to clear his head. Keisuke reached for his coat that was draped on his chair. An earsplitting crash made Keisuke's hand jerk back as the hairs on his neck stood on end.

Slowly, Keisuke glanced at the entrance to find three teenagers with motorcycle helmets on. What did they want at this time of night? He was about to greet them when one of the boys stalked over to his desk.

The policeman cowered a little, trying to sit down. He nearly missed his chair as the teen pulled off his helmet to reveal a wild mane of white hair. This was Bakura!

In a quiet, icy voice, the teen demanded, "Where is Ryou?"

Keisuke was trembling, he could feel it. He tried to form words, but the teen's powerful presence made it difficult.

"H-he's a-at – oh, I-I t-think – d-dear me, I-"

Another teen came to stand next to Bakura. He slammed his hands on the desk, making the older man flinch. "Spit it out, you fool."

With a shaking hand, Keisuke tried to dab away the sweat on his brow. "I t-took h-him to t-the T-Tokaido Shinkansen s-station-"

Curses flew over the policeman's head, and Keisuke couldn't help but throw his hands up and pray for mercy. The officer hadn't taken more than two deep gulps of breath when he finally opened his eyes, and realized the boys were gone.

The revving and roaring of motorbikes could be heard, but faded quickly, as Keisuke tried to slow his breathing. Bakura was going after his brother? What the hell was going on?

Ryou said nothing as someone ushered him through the steel gates of a train station. Somewhere in his mind, the place looked familiar. He didn't bother to look around though…what was the point?

He felt Mr. Teishin grab his wrist and drag him forward, up the short metal stairs of the train. At first, when Ryou saw the man, he had almost panicked. But then the child had decided he could disregard the senior Teishin. In the end, Ryou knew he was going to get hurt. Wasn't it always like that? Ryou quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind as his heart ached.

Mr. Teishin roughly shoved Ryou into a train seat, muttering something under his breath. Chatter rose in the air as other people filed into the train, but Ryou paid no attention. He glanced once at Mr. Teishin before leaning his against the window and staring outside. Less than a year ago, he had been on this very same railroad with Bakura, trying to get away from the man before him.

In less than a year, so many things had changed. Ryou swallowed hard as he painfully remembered everything he was trying to forget, from walks home with Bakura to the occasional trips to the park. Such small, simple things he treasured so much were now gone forever.

Why?

Bakura had left him, just like everybody else. The one person he could cling to was gone. Bakura had been different from the rest. He had given Ryou that priceless feeling of being wanted, of knowing that someone would cry if he disappeared. Ryou didn't understand – why did Bakura have to leave?

Ryou felt his throat close as regret gripped him. He should have begged. He should have apologized, he should have pleaded his case with Bakura. He didn't care if he would have looked shameless…that was how much he needed Bakura. He didn't want to stand by himself against the world again. Then a small voice asked, _What if Bakura doesn't want you back? _Ryou closed his eyes, his lower lip trembling.

The train lurched under his feet. Ryou did nothing to acknowledge the change as he opened his eyes and continued to stare out the window into the dark world. The railroad caught his eye, stretching out far in front of the train with a great night view of Kyoto on either side. He studied the metal bars that ran across the tracks, noting how battered and beaten they were. Slowly, the bars of the railroad tracks sped up and began to blur together. Ryou felt dizzy as he tried to watch, and looked back up just as the train left the station behind.

Ryou said not a word as the train slowly accelerated. Despite his efforts of erasing the past year and its painful outcome, the child found himself savoring those moments with his brother even more.

_His _brother. The gears in his mind screeched to a halt. All of a sudden, Ryou could hear nothing but the clicking and whirring of the train. _My brother…_My _brother._

Brothers don't leave each other behind. That's the point of being brothers, isn't it? Ryou desperately grasped the thought as a newfound will swept through his body. He swallowed hard as his thoughts started to race. Even if Bakura didn't want him back, Ryou still loved him. For a moment, Ryou shamefully realized he had given up on Bakura. If he could ask Bakura for another chance… If standing by Bakura's side was all he could do, Ryou could be content with that.

Something stirred in Ryou as he stubbornly held onto the thought. Or perhaps, rather than a thought, it was more of a vain wish. Whatever it was, Ryou felt a sudden rush of life as he grasped the idea.

It was a child's naivety to believe that someone still loved them, even after they were abandoned. Ryou knew that, but…this was Bakura, the only person who really cared about him. Or had cared. The child slowly got to his feet. Even if Bakura hated him, even though it would hurt, Ryou wanted to be with his brother.

A bell rang, announcing that the train was picking up speed. Ryou had to get off.

Ryou's breathing became heavy as he slowly glanced at his surroundings. Mr. Teishin was reading a newspaper across from him, his expression dull. Other passengers were talking idly or dozing off. _There's still time._ Ryou nervously glanced between Mr. Teishin and the small isle that snaked back to the end of the train. Suddenly his legs felt weak.

Perhaps it was stupidity that made Ryou believe his brother might actually want him back. But despite all the frantic doubts that threw themselves at Ryou's mind, the child strengthened his resolve and made his decision.

Ryou broke into a run toward the general direction of the end of the train. He could hear a yelp and some shouting as Mr. Teishin tried to follow. As his heart palpitated faster and faster, Ryou could feel the train quickening underneath his feet. He had to hurry – if the train reached too high of a speed, it would be too dangerous to jump off.

If he couldn't push past the porters and passengers, Ryou cut around them or tried to squeeze through. He could hear fighting behind him, people shouting curses and trying to grab him. But he didn't care – he had to get off.

By the time he reached the last car, Ryou could feel the adrenaline pumping through his body. He threw open the back door of the train and quickly ran out. A rush of wind whipped around the child as he reached for the rail. The train was definitely going much faster now, but Ryou didn't care.

With one glance at the dark, ever-shifting abyss of black flowing below him, Ryou shut his eyes and took a deep breath. The cold breeze and lurching train made his heart feel like it was going to burst from fear. _Bakura… _It was now or never.

Then he jumped.

* * *

AN: Hm…well, please review and tell me what you think…


	24. Tracks of an Angel

AN:

AN: I'm back with the next chapter! I'm sorry I haven't been able to update sooner, school sucks, I know :). Anyways, hm… I can't really comment on it until it's over, so…please enjoy reading it. Thanks!

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Yeah, I thought it was quite bold of Ryou to do what he did. Hopefully, their father doesn't go hunting for him… Thanks for the review!

bakura666: Haha, thanks! Actually, I was thinking about it, and I don't think the ending is coming anytime soon… At least, not in the next few chapters. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

ONIX-21: Hope you find this chapter as exciting as the last, lol. (And that's the first time I've been complimented for a cliffhanger). Thank you for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Thanks so much, couz! I'm glad you like this story best (from my works) and hopefully, I can finish it soon. Thanks for the support!

I Love Everything: Yeah, school stinks! Then again, I wouldn't be able to write if it wasn't for school, haha. I'm glad you like the story thus far, and look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for the review!

My Chemical Music Box: Haha, I'm sad to say that this next chapter isn't so adrenaline packed, but I like it (for whatever that's worth ;;). Thank you for reviewing!

MadPie: Thank you for the review! I hope you find this chapter enjoyable as well :)

nekosqeak: Thanks! You're awesome, too, for reviewing!

Tsunaida: Really? I like Bakura and Ryou as siblings, too! I hope you like the next chapter (as well as the rest of the story) to your liking. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Chapter Twenty Three: Tracks of an Angel

Bakura paced the length of the steel platform once more, his mood so obvious that all avoided him. His heavy footfalls and incoherent grumbling drew curious glances, but no words from passersby.

Marik and Malik were sitting on a nearby bench, nozomi train tickets clenched tightly in their hands. The older twin was leaning back on the bench, studying the high, sloping glass ceiling of the station while Malik had his head propped against his hand, elbow resting on his knee. His expression grim, Malik watched the younger white-haired teen battle his demons as he silently strode forcefully to and fro.

"Five more minutes," Marik mumbled, indicating the time at which the train for Tokyo would come in.

Malik simply nodded, his eyes never leaving Bakura. He was worried. Ever since the conformation that Ryou had left with Bakura's father on an earlier train, Bakura had been acting strange.

"_T-they left?" Bakura looked bewildered and confused for a moment, his eyes unfocused. "For Tokyo?" _

_As Marik quickly walked away to get them tickets from the booth for the next nozomi train to the big city, Bakura reached out to stop him. Marik paused and glanced back, giving Bakura a questioning look. "What?" _

_Bakura opened his mouth before quickly closing it. Hesitantly, he looked at Marik, then the booth. Slowly, Bakura pulled his hand back and shook his head. "N-nothing…" he murmured, his voice distant. "N-never mind." _

_Marik had frowned before turning back around toward the ticket booth. "We'll leave with the next train," the Egyptian called behind him. _

"_All right," Bakura said, his expression unreadable. "On the next train." _

_Malik carefully watched Bakura stare at the ground, his hands clenching and unclenching. Over the din of the train station, he could hear Marik buying the tickets. _

"_Hi, I need three nozomi tickets for Tokyo." _

"_Round trip?" _

"_Actually, no. I'm not sure when we'll be back. We might be there for a while." _

_From the corner of his eye, Malik saw Bakura flinch at Marik's words. _

Why would the teen hesitate to take the next train to Tokyo? Didn't he want Ryou back as soon as possible? Malik grounded his teeth as he tried to answer those irritating questions, but found that he couldn't. He considered asking Bakura directly, but wasn't sure if the matter was that big of a deal. Had he just imagined the flinch? Or was there something in Tokyo that Bakura didn't want to encounter?

With an irate huff, Malik roughly ran a hand through his sandy hair. _Just ask him_, he scolded himself. Finally making up his mind, Malik pushed himself to his feet and started to approach the pacing teen.

"Hey, Bakura-" he began nervously.

Bakura curtly cut Malik off. "Train's here," he muttered, just as a low guttural sound of ringing metal vibrated through the air. Bakura hurried toward the hissing doors of the train and impatiently waited for some passengers to get off.

Marik came up behind Malik, giving him a soft push toward the crowd boarding the train. "It's time to go, Malik," the older twin murmured.

"Something's wrong," Malik said, edging his way slowly toward the train. "There's something in Tokyo that Bakura-"

"Of course there is," Marik mumbled, keeping his gaze level. He didn't look down at his brother as they boarded the train. Instead, he simply said, "Why do you think they ran away?"

Malik could feel the heat rising in his face, but before he could back up his suspicions, Bakura appeared behind them.

As he grabbed the twins, he shook his head and said, "You guys are so slow." Gesturing to the next car, Bakura ushered the twins into a smaller, less hectic compartment.

Almost immediately, Bakura took a seat against the window of the train and stared outside, into the dismal, midnight black. As Malik and Marik took their seats opposite him, Bakura quietly murmured, "I hate trains."

* * *

Father Josiah was a simple man who loved routines. Every morning, he gave a sermon to a small portion of the population of Ito, took a walk to the outskirts of town to help the less fortunate, and then came back to eat dinner and prepare his next sermon. Each and every day was like this, with very miniscule changes, and Josiah was content with that.

Located on a peninsula of Japan, Ito fit Father Josiah's ideal environment for preaching about Christ. There were little means of distraction in the isolated town, and the people were obviously hungry for something to believe in. However, despite the homely community and strong bonds with members of his Christian church, Father Josiah always felt out of place.

_I really need to get married_, Josiah thought pleasantly, though he knew that that was impossible. How could an infertile man find any woman to marry him?

Josiah heaved a sigh as he pushed his weathered legs to go a bit faster. He was running a little late today because one of his followers had asked for a counsel after the sermon in the morning. Normally, the priest would have reached the slums of Ito by two in the afternoon, but it was already a quarter past the fourteenth hour.

_Almost there, old man_, Josiah told himself, trying to gather his strength. It wouldn't do to be weary when he was helping the less fortunate, not in this blazing sunlight of early summer.

The first of the sloping buildings of the slums came into view, and Father Josiah felt his spirits rise. Slowly, power seeped into his body and he found himself striding confidently toward the far side of the small district.

He hadn't gotten very far when someone started shouting, "Father Josiah! Father Josiah!"

The said pastor turned around at the cry of his name, and saw a small girl running toward him. He smiled as he called out, "Kaia, how are you?"

The small girl didn't answer his question. Her face was pale as she grabbed one of the pastor's large hands.

"Come quick, Father!" she begged, pulling the priest away from his general route to the soup kitchen. Instantly, words and phrases started to spill out. "I told Mama, and she wouldn't believe me. All my friends are too afraid to help. They think it's a curse."

"Kaia, what-"

"I don't know what to do! No one wants to help! I certainly can't do it myself, I'm not strong enough."

"Child, where are you talking abo-"

Kaia continued to drag the man toward her destination and gave Father Josiah a stern look. "You have to help me."

"And I will," the priest promised, a bit overwhelmed. "But I'd like to know-"

"There's an angel lying next to the shinkansen tracks!"

* * *

AN: So…haha, any reviews and comments would be greatly appreciated.


	25. Fear

AN:

AN: Hey, it's been a while since I've updated. School is finally almost over! Woot! However, finals is next week… . Oh, well. Study hard, everyone with finals, and good luck!

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Kaia is brave! I like her character in this story - And yes, you're right. Bakura needs to face his fears and do something about his father…though his father _is _scary. Thanks for reviewing! You were first! Woot!

The Vampire Prince: I liked the idea of the girl finding Ryou, too! And about Bakura…well, we'll see. Thank you for leaving a comment!

ONIX-21: I liked the part of Ryou being an angel, too! And yes, they're going to miss him… O.O Turn back, Bakura! Turn back! Thanks for the review!

bookworm3213: …They're going to miss each other. I find this part sad, too… Poor Ryou and Bakura. Thanks for commenting!

Bakura666: Haha, I'm glad you like the suspense and thrills! I finally found some time to sit down and write (not really – I have like, ten short essays due in three days that I have to start soon, lol) this chapter. Thank you for the review!

brunnehild: I'm happy to hear you like the story! And thank you so much for leaving so many reviews - I love hearing peoples' comments! Please continue to read on, and thanks for all the comments!

I Love Everything: School's going a bit better… Finals is next week, so I'm going to have to study like crazy this week. And then…SUMMER! Woot! And indeed – how will Bakura save Ryou now? Thank you for the review!

HikaritoYaminoKageJigoku: A new reader! Yay! Thank you for commenting. I can't wait to see what happens to Ryou and Bakura, too! Though they're going to miss each other… O.O

FlyingShadow666: Yup! Yup! It's Ryou! (And I'm glad you love the story! Ah, makes me happy -) Thank you for commenting!

Chapter Twenty Four: Fear

Father Josiah didn't believe in angels. At least, not in ones that supposedly appeared in the modern world today. He believed in the angels mentioned in the bible, in the angels the Lord God had in his court in Heaven, but not in the angels on the earth.

At least, not until he saw the crippled form of a snow-haired child lying next to the tracks of the shinkansen.

"Oh, my," the pastor breathed, stunned into silence at the broken beauty of the boy.

"Hurry, Father!" Kaia called, sprinting on ahead and kneeling next to the fallen child. "He won't wake up!"

Shaking himself out of his stupor, the pastor quickly joined the girl in trying to lift the angel up. A small groan escaped from the boy as Father Josiah hefted the kid into his arms.

"He's hurt, isn't he, Father Josiah?" Kaia asked worriedly, trailing right behind the pastor as the man hurried back into town. The man of God didn't answer as he studied the boy's form, calculating the damage done to his legs.

"Kaia, I need you to run to the soup kitchen and tell them that I can't make it today," the pastor quietly said.

The girl silently looked from the boy to the pastor, and back again. "I'll be right over to help you, Father," the girl sternly promised. Then, with a nod, she sprinted off as the heavyset pastor set a steady pace for home.

"I'll need to splint his left leg, and check for any broken ribs," the pastor mumbled to himself, his mind racing. "And fever reducers… If only I knew how long he's been like this."

With the thought of the importance of haste crossing his mind, Father Josiah pushed his weary legs even harder. He wanted to get home as soon as possible, to help mend this angel God had sent him.

* * *

Bakura forced down the urge to throw up as he stepped off the train, now in Tokyo. He felt his heart flutter in fear as the voice of his father echoed in his mind, mocking him. _Get a grip, and calm down_, Bakura reprimanded himself. As Marik and Malik joined him on the platform, he tried to breathe slowly. It was hard, since fear kept making his heart beat faster and faster.

"So where to?" Marik asked cautiously, watching Bakura carefully.

Bakura forced his face into a blank expression as he quietly murmured, "My dad's house."

Without another word, Bakura launched headfirst into the crowds of milling people, leading the way out of the station. Marik and Malik hurried after him, trying to keep the wild mane of wild hair in view.

For some reason, Malik couldn't shake off the feeling that something was dreadfully wrong. Bakura hadn't said a word on the train, and he seemed quite moody. _Which is understandable_, a part of his mind argued. _He's lost his little brother. _Malik felt a wave of irritation rise in his chest as he tried to tell himself that there was something more. Bakura was acting like…

Like he was running from something.

Malik finally caught up to Bakura outside the station, and placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Bakura, I've got a question," he started.

Bakura gave him one blank stare, and Malik suddenly lost the urge to speak. He sharply inhaled before turning away from the teen and stumbling away to hail a taxi. That void expression…Malik knew that something was terribly wrong.

Marik watched his brother struggle to get a taxi. He had seen the dead look on Bakura's face, and also knew that something was up. However, he wasn't sure whether or not he had a right to know. Would Bakura get angry if he asked him what was wrong? Would Bakura even tell him? Or would Bakura stalk off, leaving the two Egyptian brothers on the own in the middle of an unknown city?

A squeal of tires brought Marik back to the present. Shaking his head, the older twin quickly ushered Bakura into the cab before getting in himself.

"Where to?" the driver asked, as Malik slipped into the shotgun seat.

Bakura was silent for a moment, staring straight ahead. He could feel Marik and Malik waiting for him to spill the location. _I could not tell them where it is, _Bakura thought halfheartedly. _Then I wouldn't have to face him again…_Bakura grounded his teeth as he knew he was just , Bakura murmured the address of his house, and the driver took off.

_Ryou… _Bakura tried to keep his thoughts centered around his brother, but he was struggling. The slick face of the man he hated kept popping up into his vision, sneering. It was constantly saying, "I knew you'd come back to me." A shiver crawled down Bakura's spine as he tried to focus on the intention of his return.

_Just grab Ryou and get of there. _

But would he be able to do just that? Knowing his father, Ryou wasn't going to be given to him on a silver platter. Trying to swallow the lump in his throat, Bakura anxiously clenched and unclenched his fists.

Each second this cab kept moving, the closer he was getting to his father. The closer he was getting to that inhumane beast. His body started to tremble as his mind recalled things he didn't want to remember.

It was getting harder to breathe now. Bakura tightened his jaw, feeling his teeth meld together. Suddenly, a warm hand clasped Bakura's clenched fist.

With surprise evident on his face, Bakura glanced up at Marik.

"Calm down, will you? Nothing bad is going to happen. Ryou will be fine."

Very slowly, the words started to sink in. Bakura felt his body loosen as tension fled. _Nothing bad is going to happen… I have to believe that. _Bakura exhaled in a controlled manner as he reigned in his fears and tried to crush them.

Too soon, the taxi came to a stop and a new wave of fear washed over Bakura. However, as Marik paid the driver and they stepped out of the car, Bakura attempted to quell his qualms as he stood before the dark house he had grown up in.

"Is this it?" Malik murmured, stealing a glance up and down the empty street. The neighborhood was dead quiet, and creepily dark.

"This is…the house."

Bakura didn't move as he studied the squat building before him. Malik and Marik waited patiently for the teen, standing on either side of him. Then, without another word, Bakura silently walked toward the front door and knocked.

* * *

AN: Please review! Thank you for reading!


	26. For An Angel

AN: I'm sorry, I've been on hiatus for a while now... But, I'm back! And with another chapter, and with weekly updates (at least until school starts). I apologize for the long wait… I hate it when writers leave a story for a long time, and I hate the fact that I did just that…

Thanks to…

ONIX-21: I'm sorry for leaving you hanging… TT I hope you like this chapter, and thanks for reading thus far.

Bakura666: Ack, you've waited a long time, huh? Sorry for the wait…Thanks for commenting, and for supporting the story

The Vampire Prince: Is it a sin to like cliffies? Lol, I'm just kidding. Thanks for pushing me to update this story, couz. :

dragonlady222: I hope he can deal with it, too… Sorry for the long wait. I hope you like this chapter, and thanks for commenting.

My Heart Belongs To Darkness: Ah, a new reader! I'm sorry I've been on hiatus for so long… I'm happy to hear you like the story! And no, Yami and Yugi will not be making an appearance, sorry… ;;

the-bee-keeper: TT Thank you for the compliments! Ah, that makes me want to write another chapter tonight, lol. I'm sorry for the long wait – the next chapter will be here sooner than this one, though

Comicbookfan: Okay, continuing, lol. Thanks for the comment, and sorry for the long wait.

-Hannah-Thief14: Sorry for the long wait… ;; I'm off hiatus now, so I'll try to update more frequently (hopefully weekly). Thanks for reading!

You guys are the best. Thanks for sticking around and reading my story, lol. I'll try to update more frequently from now on.

**Chapter Twenty Six: For An Angel**

Father Josiah carefully wrapped the bandage around the child's left leg as he frowned. He had done everything he could think of – from pain reducers to herbal medicines – and still the boy had yet to wake. _It's only been a few hours since you've found him_, the pastor told himself. _Of course he hasn't opened his eyes! _

Fervent knocking on the door made Father Josiah jump. Wearily, he pulled himself to his feet as he called, "Who is it?"

"It's Kaia!" a small voice shouted through the door. "I've come to see the angel boy!"

A small smile spread across the pastor's face as he hastened to his door. As soon as he opened it, the girl raced in and immediately went to the bed.

"He's still sleeping?" Kaia sounded disappointed as she kneeled next to the boy. "He's all right, isn't he? He's not hurt badly, is he?"

The tension that had gripped Father Josiah all afternoon seemed to wash away when he realized that he was not the only one concerned about the angel child. Softly closing the door, the priest went to join Kaia at the side of the bed. Trying to comfort both the girl and himself, Father Josiah murmured, "I am sure the Lord God is watching over this child as we speak."

Kaia hesitantly reached out and brushed the boy's cheek with her fingers. "He can't sleep forever…" she whispered.

As if to prove her point, the boy suddenly groaned.

"B-Bakura…"

Alarmed, Father Josiah stumbled to his feet and quickly asked, "Are you awake, son?"

There was no response. Instead, the white-haired child tossed and turned before he relaxed again, still sleeping. Relief, mingled with a tad of disappointment, settled in the pit of Father Josiah's stomach as he gazed at the peaceful face of the boy.

_He will live. _

The mere thought made the pastor's heart flutter with an odd feeling. "Sleep now, child," he murmured, his eyes studying the angel God had sent him. "Sleep, and wake refreshed."

As Father Josiah reluctantly turned away to prepare the sermon for the next day, he reached down to tap Kaia on the shoulder. She had to leave soon, it was getting dark. However, before he could tell the little girl to come back tomorrow, something made him stop and smile. _Fifteen more minutes wouldn't hurt_, he thought. _She can stay for fifteen more minutes. _

On her knees, with her hands pressed together in prayer, sat Kaia. And clasped tightly in Kaia's hands was the boy's hand.

* * *

Bakura had been hoping that no one would answer the door. He was hoping that his father wasn't home, and that Ryou was back safely in Kyoto. He was hoping that this was all a joke. A cruel joke that he would let slide by. Because if this was a prank, a mean and ruthless prank, then at least this would all be a dream.

But no – reality was a bitch.

As soon as the door opened, the tall figure that haunted Bakura became real once more. Piercing charcoal eyes slowly slanted upwards as a nasty smirk spread across the man's darkly handsome features. He softly hissed, somewhat gleefully, "Hello, Bakura."

The teen flinched. He couldn't help it. He hated the way the man said his name.

Utaka Teishin reached out to touch Bakura's cheek when someone slapped it away. A look of irritation passed through the man's face before his proper mask slid into place.

Bakura stared at Malik as the younger Egyptian twin scowled and stepped forward to place himself between the father and son.

"Don't touch him, you bastard," Malik growled, protectively raising an arm to bar the man from Bakura. "We didn't come here to say hello. We're here to pick up Ryou."

Quietly, Marik walked forward to stand at Bakura's elbow. "Give us Ryou," he murmured.

For a moment, Mr. Teishin just stared at them. Bakura felt his mouth go dry when the man looked directly at him and smiled.

"Ryou's not here right now."

_We shouldn't have come_. Bakura closed his eyes as he tried to keep his breathing even. He could feel the heat leaving his body as panic set in. _We shouldn't have come. _

"Where is he, then?" Marik asked, his voice barely under control.

Mr. Teishin's smile widened as he gleefully said, "That's a secret." As the Egyptian twins exchanged confused glances, the man added, "But I can tell you for a price."

Malik growled, reaching for the older man. "This isn't a game, you motherf-"

"Where is he?" Marik demanded, pulling his brother back. Rage burned in his eyes as he shouted, "What did you do with him?"

There was a chuckle as Utaka Teishin shook his head. "Don't worry, I didn't harm a hair on the brat. That worthless kid is waiting elsewhere for you, all by his lonesome self."

"What's the price?" Bakura quietly interjected. "What is it you want, father?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Mr. Teishin smirked as he said, "You know what I want."

Malik and Marik exchanged confused glances as Bakura was struck numb. Malik narrowed his eyes at the older man and muttered, "We don't know, so why don't you tell us?"

"Bakura knows," was all Mr. Teishin said. The man gazed at Bakura with a smirk dancing on his face.

Bakura paled as he realized what his father was after. _Don't tell me you weren't expecting this_, a voice warned him. _You knew what he wanted from the beginning. _

"I…" _I can't._

Bakura miserably stared at the slick man as fear and guilt ran rampant in his mind. _If Ryou were in my situation, he wouldn't have hesitated…What kind of brother am I? _The white-haired teen inhaled slowly, and held his breath. He was scared, frightened, horrified – but hadn't Ryou also felt that way? When he was kidnapped by this fiend?

But Ryou didn't know what this man could do. _Excuses_, Bakura weakly told himself. _**You're so lame, Bakura. Ryou would've done everything in his power to find you and bring you back. And here you are, a few words away from saving him, and you're nearly pissing your pants.** _

_**Ryou has already suffered at your inadequate hands. What he needed was parents, but you took their place instead. You think Ryou deserves this? Don't you think he deserves a good and proper family? The very least you could have done as an older brother was make sure he was safe. And you've failed even at that. How could you let him slip into the hands of your father? **_

_**And how the hell can you hesitate to correct your own goddamn mistake?**_

Bakura stared at his hands. He was turning into his father, wasn't he? He was turning into a monster, wasn't he? He couldn't feel the shame or the guilt anymore. He felt empty inside. _I can't...I don't...I..._

_**This isn't about you. It never was. This is about Ryou.**_

Bakura slowly met his father's gaze.

_**It's not like you haven't done what he wants before.**_

That was true. Biting his lower lip, Bakura closed his eyes. "I... Tell Marik and Malik where Ryou is, and I'll do what you want."

* * *

AN: I promise to be back with the next chapter by…the latest, 10 days. Hopefully, it'll be like…five? Please comment, thank you for reading.


	27. Bakura's Story: Nightmares

AN: Hey, guys

AN: Hey, guys! Back with another chapter! :)

Thanks to…

ONIX-21: Haha, I'm happy to hear that you're glad I'm back! :) Makes me want to update more often, keke. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for commenting!

-Hannah-Thief14: I hope it stays interesting, lol. Thanks for the comment!

Comicbookfan: I wonder…will your guess be correct? :P And no, Father Josiah doesn't think he's literally an angel, but…like, a gift? Lol, it'll be clearer in the next chapter. Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: I know! That old man is a bastard, lying like he is… Thanks for the review!

Bakura666: Keke, did I update sooner than expected? xP Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Lol, up and running, huh? I like that. Well, it is thanks to you that I started writing this again. (Though I would have continued, just…not as soon, lol). Thanks for the comment!

Sarah: I wonder what you think Bakura has to do… Keke, thanks for the comment!

yeyavailability: Lol, I loved your first sentence, that cracked me up. I'm glad you like the story so far, haha. And I'm sorry – the second half of your review was a little confusing. What's pain-related? (And…read this chapter before you, er, leave a comment. I think things will make more sense, for you and for me oo;;) Thanks for commenting!

the-bee-keeper: Glad to hear you still like it :) Thanks for the comment!

Mirage88: Hm, you're going to have to tell me what you think of this chapter, haha. Thanks for the comment!

**Chapter Twenty Six: Bakura's Story - Nightmares**

_He didn't look back as he shut the door to the room he shared with Ryou. Though it hurt him to leave the child alone like that, with the music blasting as it was, it couldn't be helped. Not when his father was waiting downstairs. _

_As Bakura raced down the steps and into the basement of the house, he tried to mentally prepare himself. With some difficulty, the teen entered his dream world. It was getting harder and harder every time – one of these days, he was going to slip up. Then his dream world and reality world would crash together. If that happened, Bakura was sure he was going to lose his grip on his sanity. _

_Or maybe he already lost it. _

_It was dim and musty in the small, spacious basement. As Bakura waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he could feel the walls trembling from the music that he left blasting upstairs. _

"_Are you ready?" his father muttered from somewhere in the shadows. _

_What a stupid question – like he had a choice. "Let's get this over with," Bakura meekly said, already feeling his mind separating from his body. _

_His father chuckled as he stepped closer to him, toying with something in his gloved hands. "There's two of them this time. Make it quick." _

_In a daze, Bakura said not a word as something cool was pressed against the nape of his neck. He no longer panicked at its metallic touch. His father shoved something against his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, Bakura took it. _

_It was cold like always, cold to the touch. He would always glance down at it, surprised at how heavy it was. Even after all these years of using one, he couldn't get used to the weight – how could such a small thing be so heavy? _

_Slowly, Bakura walked towards the darkest corner of the basement, his father close behind him. The teen could make out two forms lying down on their side, huddled against each other, blindfolded and drugged. _

_Bakura stared at them, his mind fogged. They're just dolls, he told himself. That's all they are – dolls. See? They aren't moving. _

"_Hurry up," his father grumbled, increasing the pressure on his neck. "I haven't got all night." _

_Bakura swallowed hard as a hand pushed his arm up, taking aim for him. _

_They're just dolls, he reminded himself. _

_Why is it so heavy?_

_Just dolls. _

_He pulled the trigger. _

_He never heard the bang of the gun, but the sudden recoil shook him up. Startled, he almost dropped the firearm as if it was burning coal before his father pushed his arm up again, pointing the barrel at the second form. _

"_Shoot, damn it!" _

_Bakura did as he was told. _

_His ears were ringing now, ringing with silence. He was in shock. He felt his father tear the gun from his fingers, and shove him aside. Bakura let himself collide into the wall, and slowly slid down to the ground. He was trembling all over, his eyes shut tight. _

_Just dolls, just dolls. That's all they are. _

_He could hear his father grunting as he dragged the bodies out of the basement. Bakura stayed where he was, curled into a ball, rocking on his heels. He repeated the words again and again in his head, willing them to be true. _

_Just dolls, just dolls. _

_It was quiet again, and he was all alone. Bakura dared to open his eyes, and saw nothing but black. He blankly scanned the shadowed basement again and again as bit by bit, pieces of reality started infiltrating his mind, bringing him back. _

_It was a dream. _

_Bakura slowly pulled himself to his feet, feeling weak with fatigue. His world was spinning, spinning out of control. He bit his lower lip, pressing a hand against his temple to ease the dizziness. He stared at his other hand, and for a second, he saw red on them. _

_He blinked. The red disappeared. _

_Dumbfounded, Bakura intently watched his hand to see if it would happen again. A minute passed, then two. _

_Nothing. _

_It was just a dream, a nightmare. The same nightmare he had every night._

* * *

That was what he told himself for the past seven years – it was just a dream. Too horrified to confront his fears, too terrified to acknowledge what he had become, Bakura had separated the nights with his father from the real world.

It wasn't always like this. In the very beginning, when Bakura was nine, he had been so shaken and disturbed that all he could do was stare, stare at something in the distance that wasn't really there. Despite his trance-like state, his father brought in victims, drugged and bagged, every night. Repeatedly, he wrapped Bakura's fingers around the trigger and shot, making sure to never get his own hands on the killing weapon itself.

The boy started to suffocate. He never had enough air. It hurt to breathe, to laugh, to live. Headless monsters haunted him in every shadow, bloody corpses were waiting for him around every corner. His hands wouldn't stop quivering, his breathing was always shallow. He was scared witless, and he had no air to scream.

Bakura became a mute. His friends started to avoid him, teachers began to make house calls, his detached mother overdosed on alcohol too many times. They never came to his rescue. No one ever did.

He couldn't sleep. Three nights he went without rest, the guilt, sorrow, and regret tormenting him.

One time, he tried to kill himself. In the basement, when his father handed him the gun, the nine-year-old Bakura had raised it to his own head. Utaka Teishin had torn the firearm from his son, but only after slapping him.

"What's wrong with you, Bakura? They're just dolls!" his father had shouted, gripping the boy's shoulders and shaking him hard. "They're not alive! Look at them!" He didn't want to look, but his father made him. "See? They aren't moving!"

Bakura stared at the still forms.

"They're just dolls, damn it! Don't you understand?" His father shook him again, trying to emphasize his point. "Nod, you bastard!"

Rigidly, Bakura gave a slight affirmation with his head. Tears were rolling down his cheeks.

His father grumbled as he took the firearm back and cleaned it of fingerprints. Then he grabbed Bakura's hand, and closed the boy's fingers around the trigger.

"Just shoot the dolls, Bakura."

The child blankly stared at the bodies huddled in the corner. Dolls, were they? _Yes, yes…dolls. That's all they are._ The thought eased some of the pain and terror that had tortured the boy for the past few days. _Dolls…_ He felt a little lighter, but exhausted. He wanted to sleep now. Someone's hand rested on his, and gently pushed his finger down. As the boy pulled the trigger, a cry rose in his chest.

The young Bakura forced it down, locking the truth and burying it. Something inside of him died that night, but he didn't care. _They're just dolls…_ The more he told himself that, the less it hurt. The more he could breathe. The easier it was to cope. The harder it was to believe it was real.

That night, the nightmares began.

And that's all they were… Nightmares.

* * *

AN: I had some doubts about the organization of this chapter. At first, I only wanted to post the first half, and then add the second half later. But then, it didn't seem appropriate to split it… But I don't know – what're your guys' opinions? Did it turn out well? And another thing – why did everyone assume that his father was raping him? Did I really make it sound like that? oo;; Oops… Anyways, thanks for reading, and please comment!

PS: Uh, this is just a question, but…has my style of writing changed or anything? Gotten worse or stayed the same? (Sorry, I was just wondering because it's been a while since I've written chapters for this story. I wanted to know if I need to edit more heavily, if the chapters aren't good enough oo;;)


End file.
